By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Blatant encroachment into government land by people came to the fore after the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA), on Thursday, evicted one Jropsila Kharkongor for encroaching on government land in the new Shillong Township at Mawdiangdiang.
The Government has been maintaining that it had acquired the land between 1996 and 2003, while Kharkongor has claimed that she had bought the 8385-sq ft plot of land from one Subon Kharkongor in 2002.
When contacted, Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh maintained that Kharkongor had encroached into the government land which they had acquired few years back.
Stating that the government had tried to pursue with Kharkongor to vacate the plot of land, Ampareen said that Kharkongor, instead of vacating the land, approached the court.
“In 2010 the Court gave its verdict in favour of the government,” the Urban Affairs Minister said.
Thursday’s eviction drive was conducted after the East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner, in February last, informed the Urban Affairs department about the court verdict, Ampareen added.
“We had requested her (Kharkongor) to vacate the land but she did not comply. It is sad that the government had to use force to get back the land,” the Urban Affairs Minister said.
Meanwhile, CSWO president Agnes Kharshiing, while criticizing the forced eviction of Kharkongor from her own land, demanded a CBI inquiry into the process of land acquisition by the government.
Kharshiing also claimed that as per RTI documents available with the organization, the land originally belonged to Jropsila Kharkongor but it was illegally claimed by one Unikey Kharkongor who in turn sold it to the government.
Kharshiing further claimed that Unikey had produced an incomplete deed of declaration while selling the land to the government, while pointing out that there was a nexus among the Revenue department, MUDA and Unikey.
It may be noted that the State Government had acquired over 300 acres of land between 1997 and 2003 for the New Shillong Township at Mawdiangdiang and surrounding areas.
It was also learnt that ten families had illegally encroached into the government land, out of which only Jropsila Kharkongor had taken the matter to the court.