SHILLONG:
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on Tuesday mentioned that relocation of the Harijan Colony from Them Iew Mawlong has to take place.
“Relocation has to take place,” Tynsong told reporters, adding that the government will go ahead with the very clear proposal.
His statement comes after the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) rejected the government’s proposal to relocate the 342 families of Harijan Colony from Them, Iew Mawlong, to the existing land of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB).
On Tuesday, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said the HPC has made its stand very clear in its reply submitted on April 20 that “they don’t accept the blueprint presented by the government to them. That is the case right now.”
When asked, the deputy chief minister said that all documents were being studied by the advocate general and very soon the government will sit to discuss the matter.
On Monday, the Meghalaya High Court had deferred the hearing on the issue to June 7.
The order was passed by the division bench based on the request made by the state government and the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) during the hearing.
“At the request of the parties, let the matter stand over for six weeks. List on June 7, 2023,” the bench had said in its order.
In its 6-page reply sent to the Deputy Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya and other departments concerned, the HPC had alleged that the proposal of the government was “incomplete, unsuitable, unprepared, unfair and undemocratic.”
The reply also came after the deadline issued by the state government had expired 10 days ago.
The HPC had also stated in its reply that “There are serious lacunae, sweeping and undesirable conclusions in the approach and attitude of the High-Level Committee of the Meghalaya government.”
“We are devastated that since the formation of the new government, ministers, MLAs, and certain groups have been making unnecessary remarks saying that the whole issue would be resolved within April. What magical trick do they have up their sleeve to resolve the issue within days? The matter is sub-judice and they are only paying lip service to respect for the judiciary. We will not buckle under political duress,” it had also added.