Govt to take possession of Harijan Colony land; Urban Affairs dept to beautify the area
Chairman of the High-Level Committee (HLC) on the Harijan Colony issue and Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong said that in the coming days, the government will be taking possession of the land and the Urban Affairs department has been directed to beautify the area.
"The Urban affairs department and the Municipal Board will take possession of the land from the Syiem of Hima Mylliem and the Urban Affairs department will beautify the area," Tynsong told reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Mawphlang, on October 20.
He, however, stressed that eviction of the residents of the colony will be done as per the law. "We will not evict the residents randomly. The law is there. We have consulted the legal experts," he said.
Tynsong also informed that the 1954 Agreement has been renewed. "The new agreement between the government and the Syiem of Hima Mylliem has superseded the agreement signed in the year 1954," he said.
It may be mentioned that the renewed agreement involves the Shillong Municipal Board, the Urban Affairs department and the Syiem of Hima Mylliem.
Responding to a question why the HLC committee didn’t consult the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) while formulating the report, Tynsong said that the state government conducted the inventorisation thrice but the residents of the Harijan Colony didn’t cooperate.
"The municipal board and the revenue department were directed to conduct the inventory survey. But there was no cooperation from the residents," he said.
Of late, a number of social organisations and political parties from outside of Meghalaya have extended support to the HPC which has been asserting that the residents have the right to occupy and possess the land. "They need not worry. They should have faith in us. We are guided by the Indian Constitution and we will follow that," said the deputy chief minister.
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