SHILLONG:
Deputy chief minister in charge of Urban Affairs department Sniawbhalang Dhar, on March 16, informed that the government has given time to the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) till April 10 to reply on their proposal for relocation and accommodation of 342 families from Harijan Colony.
Speaking to reporters, he said, “We have decided to give them time till April 10. Let them reply and we will discuss. They asked for three months’ time but we decided to give them till April 10. Let them reply and we will take a call.”
He added that the government is working on solving the Harijan Colony issue as early as possible.
Stressing that the government will act once they get the reply from the HPC, Dhar said that the HPC’s demand remains the same – they want a new place for them. He added that the government is ready to give them a new place.
He said, “If the demand is genuine, the government will be ok with that.”
When asked about illegal settlers, the minister said that the government is not aware of any illegal settlers.
It may be recalled that the Meghalaya High Court has asked the state government to resolve the issue of relocation of the residents of Harijan Colony from Them Iew Mawlong immediately after the election.
The state government on September 29 last year made a presentation of the blueprint indicating the detailed drawings and designs of the proposed buildings to be constructed for accommodating the 342 families of Harijan Colony before the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC).
The government had also decided to hand over the blueprint – for construction of multi-storey flats at the existing official quarters of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) – to the HPC.