Nongpoh:
The All Khasi Hills Achik Federation (AKHAF) has flagged an alleged fraudulent land deal struck by a construction company in Rangasora village, South West Khasi Hills, on Thursday.
The president of the federation, Clevister Ch Marak, informed that one, Artinus R Marak, a landowner in the village, had approached the federation claiming that one construction company, JCC Private Limited, has not paid rent ever since it took over a piece of his land to construct a camp for the company’s operations.
Clevister informed that the land deal was struck between Artinus and the company on terms that the latter will pay Rs 1 lakh annually as rent for using the land. Since the site is centrally located, the company had told Artinus that setting up a camp there would help the company cover its whole area of operation, he said.
“But, Artinus claimed that the company hasn’t paid him a penny till date. And when the landowner approached us, we assessed the situation and found Artinus’ claims to be true,” said Clevister, adding that the JCC Pvt Ltd., which is a fencing construction company, operates between Moheskhola and Balat, informed Clevister.
“The reluctant attitude of the company towards this poor person is condemnable. It also displays how careless the company is towards poor people living in Khasi Hills and have taken them for granted,” AKHAF said in a statement.
Issuing an ultimatum to the company to resolve the issue expeditiously, the federation also said that if not taken “seriously”, the federation will take up the issue with higher authorities.
“We will arrange for appropriate action against the company to bar its license along with other legal actions,” said the federation.