RBSU picks up legal leaf to demand Umsning bypass rethink

SHILLONG, DEC 20: The Ri Bhoi Students’ Union (RBSU) on Saturday demanded the setting up of a committee to reexamine the proposal to construct the four-lane Umsning bypass in light of the fact that land acquisition for the project has not been completed even two years after the publication of the notification, as mandated by law.

RBSU president Tyngshainlang Lapang said section 11A of the Land Acqusition Act clearly states that that if land is not acquired within two years of the publication of acquisition notification, the entire proceedings will be deemed to have lapsed. “We have learnt that around 12 –13 landowners are still not willing to give their land for the bypass project and have even filed a writ petition in the Shillong Bench of the Gauhati High Court in this regard. This shows the process of land acquisition has not been completed and the entire exercise has effectively lapsed since the notification was issued way back in 2008,” he said, while quoting from the relevant portion of the Land Acquisition Act which, according to him, reads: “(A) collector shall make an award under Section 11 within a period of two years from the date of the publication of the declaration, and if no award is made within that period, the entire proceedings for the acquisition of the land shall lapse.

The RBSU president alleged given the difficulties in acquiring land for the bypass due to opposition by some landowners, the district administration is considering a re-alignment of the road  which is part of the project to four-lane the 61.8 km long NH40 from Jorabat to Umiam. “The district administration has not been able to make a smooth demarcation of land for the bypass till now.  We want the government to form a committee to reexamine the entire matter pertaining to the construction of the Umsning bypass,” he said.

Notably, there is a sharp division with the pressure groups in the district over the four-lane project. While a section under the banner of Joint Action Committee (JAC) is in favour of constructing a bypass skirting the existing highway, others like RBSU want the present road to be four-laned. Lapang claimed the majority of the landowners in the area want the existing road to be widened. “According to the fact finding report submitted on February 1.the majority of the landowners are in favour of four-laning the existing NH – 40,” he said. (By Our Reporter)