“We will write to the chief minister Mukul Sangma and the Northeast Railway Frontier (NFR) on the matter,” KHADC chief PN Syiem said while replying during the session of the council held here on Tuesday.
He also said that they would also suggest the government to relook into its approach towards handling the prevailing law and order situation arising out of the protest against the railway project.
The assurance came after KHNAM MDC Adelbert Nongrum demanded the executive committee to write to the government to stop the construction work of the railway line and arresting the members of the KSU, which is protesting against the project.
Earlier, Congress MDC from Mawlai Process T Sawkmie has accused the ruling PDF led EC for adopting a soft approach towards the railway authority, which is going ahead with laying the rail track without obtaining the NOC from the Council.
Denying this, the CEM said it is not true that the EC is having a soft corner for the railway authority as infact the EM in-charge Hadrian Lyngdoh had conducted a sport inspection and even given verbal instruction to stop the construction works.
The opposition leader Manstudy Nongrem and other members have also lambasted the present EC, which in the past has taken up many issues to Court, for showing lack of interest to deal with the matter.
The CEM however informed that the council is already in the process of consulting with the legal experts to examine the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
“We are waiting for the opinion of legal experts before proceeding ahead (seeking the Court’s intervention),” he said.
Stating that the land acquisition for the railway project was done before the coming of the new Act, he however said during the meeting with traditional heads, it was resolved that before issuing NOC to any project, they should inform the KHADC.
At present, the construction work of the railway line in Ronghona village under Byrnihat police outpost has been stopped completely following the violent protest by activists of the KSU on May 27.
Subsequent to the attack, the state has also witnessed several incidents of arson and petrol bomb attack in the past three weeks and also arrest of several members of the anti-railway group.
The proposed 20.5 km Tetelia-Byrnihat railway li
Sources however said that the cost for the construction would go up to Rs 1,400 crore from Rs 496 crore, and the cost for the Byrnihat-Shillong line has been pegged at around Rs 4,500 crore.
Ronghona is supposed to be an end point of the Tetelia-Byrnihat railway l
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