SHILLONG : Landowners along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya are not opposed to the construction of border fencing but want the Centre to compensate them for land that will fall outside the fenced area, Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Home (Police) Prestone Tynsong said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters, Tynsong said landowners and village authorities from Garo Hills to East Jaintia Hills had no objection to the fencing project. However, their main concern was the loss of access to agricultural land that would remain beyond the proposed border fence.

“Right from Garo Hills up to East Jaintia Hills, the landowners, the village authorities, they are not against it, let me make it very clear on this,” Tynsong said.

He explained that once the fencing is completed, certain portions of land would fall outside the fenced boundary, effectively becoming inaccessible to the landowners.

According to Tynsong, the affected land could become unusable as owners would no longer be able to access it for cultivation.

“The only issue the landowners have a reservation about is the land. Once the fencing is completed, the land is beyond the fencing, because that land automatically will become like a no-man’s land. They cannot even go for cultivation,” he said.

Tynsong said the landowners want the Government of India to take over such affected land and provide appropriate compensation rather than leaving it unused.

“So, therefore, it becomes wasteland. The concerned landowners, what they wanted from the Government of India is, in such cases which happened that way, let the Government of India take over and let them pay the compensation,” he added.

The Deputy Chief Minister said the Meghalaya Government had already communicated the matter to the Centre, particularly the Ministry of Home Affairs, and was awaiting a response.

He said the state government had sought clarification on the compensation issue to address the concerns of affected landowners before the fencing work progresses.

Asked about the extent of land that could be affected by the issue, Tynsong estimated that the stretch involved was not less than 45 kilometres.

The matter remains under discussion between the state government and the Centre, with affected landowners seeking compensation for land that could become inaccessible following the completion of border fencing.