SHILLONG, JUNE 27: UDP leader and former Urban Affairs Minister Paul Lyngdoh on Wednesday said the need of the hour is for the state government to have a political will to resolve the issue related to the Them Mawlong (Sweepers’ Lane).
“Political will is needed because I don’t see any difficulty for the state government to resolve this issue especially when the ownership of the land has already been established by the Court that it belongs to the Shillong Municipal Board,” Lyngdoh told reporters here.
The former urban affairs minister also submitted relevant papers and points on the matter related to the Them Mawlong to the deputy chief minister and chairman of the high level committee Prestone Tynsong.
The high level committee was constituted by the state government to find a permanent solution for relocation of the sweepers’ colony from Them Iew Mawlong following the five-day violent protest in the state capital.
“I have submitted a nine-point representative which include official documents which will help the high level committee in resolving the issue,” Lyngdoh said.
He said the municipal authorities are supposed to exercise control over the plot of land measuring around 34,000 square feet and the sweepers have been allotted quarters to house them during their service period with the Board.
According to him, the question of allotment of any plot or dwelling unit to any servant of the board on a permanent basis simply does not arise as it goes against well-established parameters of any government board and institution.
“Allotment to persons other than employees of the board and their immediate families is illegal and violative of allotment guidelines,” he added.
The UDP leader said that if the ex-chief minister of the state has to vacate the CM’s bunglow then how is it acceptable for the employees of the board to claim ownership rights over government quarters.
Lyngdoh also suggested the need to revive the road-cum-flyover and multi-level parking lot projects in the interest of permanently freeing the vital economic-hub of human inhabitation and optimizing its latent potential.
He informed that in an effort to decongest the city, substantial progress was made on the road-cum-flyover project from Rap’s Mansion to Sweepers’ Lane, covering an area of approximately 1.20 kms in length.
Stating that the project involved land acquisition in two parts, he said the first part is the land measuring 7,917 acres of vacant land of Shillong Cantonment, for which he had personally met the Union Defence Minister as well as Union Minister for Urban Development.
The second part is revenue land measuring approximately 3760.30 sq kms which was leased to certain individuals viz Messrs. J. Geonka, B. Geonka, M Nongkynrih and the High Court Bar Association.
As per estimates received from the deputy commissioner, East Khasi Hills, the cost of acquisition of cantonment land at that point of time (2004-06) was Rs 18.88 crore. However, in subsequent discussions, the defence authorities made it amply clear that they would not accept monetary compensation but would opt for exchange of land of equal value as per govt of India norms.
In this regard, he said a letter addressed to the Union Defence Minister dated December 4, 2009 by him indicated that the state government had done due diligence but there was resistance and opposition from certain quarters.
As far as the revenue land is concerned, Lyngdoh said the DC has pegged the cost of acquisition at Rs 3.84 crore which included the cost for three standing structures. During the years 2004-05 and 2005-06, a total amount of Rs 2.60 crore was sanctioned as per budget provision while a balance amount was released subsequently, he added.
In a letter from Harcharan Singh Josh, Member of the National Commission for Minorities on July 31, 2007, it was informed that a petition from a group of Sikh dalit from the “Punjabi Harijan Colony, Shillong” was received stating that these poor people have been living in Shillong for almost 200 years, but still they are being evicted from their “ancestral land” in the name of developing a parking space.
Also five cases were filed before the Court on the matter. However Lyngdoh said “But the Court had already established that the SMB is the owner of the land and if any dispute should arise it should be between the SMB and Hima Mylliem but there should not be a third party.”
Meanwhile, the former minister also expressed concern over the attempt to interfere into the issue by people coming from outside the state. “They are taking advantage because they are from mainland India and they have access to the national media and are trying to portray the indigenous people as villain,” he said.
By Our Reporter
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