By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The illegal encroachment along the Wah Umkhrah has taken a new turn with the Government machinery trying to shift responsibilities for obtaining valid land documents which would allow the Government to prove its ownership on the land along the banks of the river.
This latest tussle between Urban Affairs and the Directorate of Land Survey and Records has emerged after the Gauhati High Court, had in July last year set aside the demolition order but upheld the MUDA bye-laws on illegal structures.
Since the court upheld the MUDA bye-laws it had opened a window of opportunities for the Urban Affairs department to restart the whole process of issuing show-cause notices to the illegal settlers along the river banks.
But to resume the process, MUDA required valid land documents to prove the Government’s ownership over the land along the Wah Umkhrah.
To start the process for obtaining valid land documents, the Urban Affairs department had claimed that they had to seek the help of the Directorate of Land Records and Survey including the maps.
“We have written to the Land Records and Survey Department to come out with all the relevant land documents concerning the land along the Umkhrah River. The Urban Affairs department does not have such records at its disposal,” a senior official of Urban Affairs department said here on Monday.
Countering this statement of the Urban Affairs department, a senior official of the Directorate of Land Records and Survey has denied that they have received any such letter from the department.
‘It is surprising that Urban Affairs department is trying to shift its responsibilities. How can we provide the documents of the land which is in the custody of another department? If there are any land documents for the land along Wah Umkhrah it should be with the Urban Affairs department,” a senior government official said. This latest row has raised a question if the Government really possesses the land documents to prove its ownership over the land along Wah Umkhrah. Without the valid land documents, it would be impossible for the Government to evict the illegal settlers along the river bank.