Villagers fear complete displacement
By Eric Calvin Ranee
NONGPOH: The proposed Broad Gauge Railway line from Tetelia to Byrnihat (21.50 km) has been opposed by villagers of Ronghona and Lum Nongrim, Byrnihat as the entire village of Ronghona will be wiped off, thereby leading to complete displacement of all the villagers, while a portion of the Lum Nongrim village will also be affected if the railways alignment survey of 2008 is implemented by the Railway authorities.
According to the alignment survey of 2008, the railway tracks will pass by the football ground of the Byrnihat Sports Association (BSA), then traverse through portions of Lum Nongrim village and through the hills to Ronghona village. As per the survey a railway station would be set up in the heart of Ronghona village.
If the railway line is laid as per the survey, all the 34 houses in Ronghona Village comprising a population of 192 will be completely displaced while another 15 house in Lum Nongrim will also be displaced. The BSA football grounds would also be lost.
To register strong protest and their opposition to the survey, the Dorbar Shnong of Lum Nongrim, the village body of Ronghona and the Byrnihat Sports Association have formed a Joint Action Committee (JAC) under the chairmanship of Lum Nongrim Rangbah Shnong Medhi Syiem and BSA president Albertus Lapang as the secretary besides representatives from all the three bodies.
This scribe, who visited the spot, spoke to Medhi Syiem, who informed that the JAC has proposed an alternate alignment for the railway line from Tetelia to Byrnihat, which will have little or no impacts on the housholds in Ronghona and Lum Nongrim and also spare the football ground of the BSA.
He pointed out that according to the alignment which the JAC is proposing, the railway tracks would pass through the extreme left side of the BSA football ground and then traverse through paddy fields and non-habitat areas of Lum Nongrim and Ronghona, thus preventing the displacement of the houses in Lum Nongrim and Ronghona villages.
Syiem also informed that the JAC was in favour of construction of the proposed railway station in any isolated part of Ronghona village deemed suitable for the purpose.
Reacting to a declaration published by the State Revenue Department on March 21, 2012 in a section of the media, the JAC chairman said, “We had submitted a petition to the Ri Bhoi Deputy Commissioner in 2009 signed by a number of community leaders from Ronghona and Lum Nongrim. But to our utter surprise, the Revenue Department published their names as land owners which was completely wrong and misleading.”
On the alignment survey of 2008, Syiem clarified that whoever carried out the survey did so without the knowledge of the village authorities of Ronghona and Lum Nongrim thereby surpassing the authority at the grass-roots level.
The JAC maintained that they strongly welcomed the railway line as it would be a boon for the people and also boost the economy of the area, but categorically stated that the railway would serve no purpose if an entire village were to be wiped out.
Meanwhile, the JAC in an emergent meeting held on Saturday night at Byrnihat, decided to urge the State Government to ask the Railway authorities to implement the railway project as per the alignment proposed by the committee.
It may be noted that the Tetelia – Byrnihat railway line has been approved by the Railways Board as an alternative alignment to the earlier proposed Azara – Byrnihat line. The final location survey has been completed and a detailed estimate amounting to Rs 384.04 crore had been sanctioned by the Board on August 5, 2010.
As far as implementation of the project is concerned, the Assam government has already received the allotment of the entire 46.94 hectare of land and compensation has also been awarded in a majority of the case.
However in the Meghalaya portion, so far only a notification has been published for acquisition of 36.8 hectares of private land, but the process of land acquisition has been quite slow. No government land is involved in the Meghalaya sector of the proposed project.