Mizoram: NGOCC appeals LSC holders inside Assam Rifles occupied areas to surrender certificates

NGOCC also urged the state government to cancel all the LSCs and house passes of those who refuse to surrender

Mizoram’s NGO Coordination Committee (NGOCC), a conglomerate of major civil societies and student associations, on Tuesday appealed to the people who have land settlement certificates (LSCs) and house site passes inside the areas occupied by the Assam Rifles to surrender to the state government. 

The NGOCC had earlier made the appeal, after which eight of the 50 people with land settlement certificates (LSCs) or house passes inside the main Assam Rifles battalion-occupied area in the heart of Aizawl city surrendered their land documents.

They also urged the state government to cancel all the LSCs and house passes of those who refuse to surrender and asked the government to utilise the land solely for public purposes once the Assam Rifles vacate the area.

Landowners inside the Assam Rifles occupied land, including three former ministers and two former legislators, while one of the former legislators surrendered his land document.

The appeal by the NGOCC comes ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Mizoram, during which he will inaugurate the new Assam Rifles headquarters at Zokhawsang, about 15 kilometres east of Aizawl, on Saturday.
While the Assam Rifles battalion was expected to shift from the heart of Aizawl city to Zokhawsanga, the paramilitary force had delayed the shift for decades with one pretext or another.
The decision to relocate the Assam Rifles from Aizawl was made after paramilitary force personnel gunned down seven people in early 1988, prompting then-state chief minister Laldenga to label the action a “mutiny.”
Even though the Ministry of Home Affairs had previously allotted a large sum of money for the relocation of the Assam Rifles, years had passed due to repeated delays.
Meanwhile, the state government recently served a show cause notice to all the LSC and house pass holders inside the Assam Rifles area to explain how they could obtain such documents and why their documents would not be canceled in accordance with the law.
The landholders were given 30 days to respond to the show cause notice.

The Officials claim that having land documents inside the area occupied by the Assam Rifles is a violation of Section 8 of the Mizo District Land Revenue Act, 1956, as well as the Mizoram (Restriction on Use of Transferred Land) Act, 2002.

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