Encroachment along Wahumkhrah river
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Following its failure to check encroachment along the Wahumkhrah river, the Urban Affairs department has now passed the buck on the Revenue Department saying “The matter should be taken up by the Revenue department since issues pertaining land are looked after by Revenue Department.”
Talking to newsmen here on Tuesday, Urban Affairs minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said, “The matter should be taken up by the Revenue department.”
Last year, the Urban Affairs department had asserted that the Government would conduct a fresh survey of the disputed land along Wahumkhrah river to strengthen its case against alleged encroachers before challenging the Gauhati High Court verdict.
It may be mentioned that the Gauhati High Court had set aside the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) order to evict the occupants of the land along the river and its adjoining areas.
According to Lyngdoh, the department was not in a hurry to take any decision at the moment and it is awaiting a review of the entire stretch from the Revenue department.
Though the issue of demolition has settled down after the State Government lost the battle in the court, however there is no stopping to encroachment of the river.
“The challenge for us is to stop the encroachment and we are concerned over the dumping of waste in the river,” Lyngdoh added.
Several initiatives have been taken up either by the Government or by different agencies to clean the river. Such initiatives have failed to pay any dividends.
“We need collaborative efforts from all the stakeholders to preserve the river as some potion of the river falls under MUDA, some under KHADC and some under syiem,” she added.