By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The FKJGP have asked the owner of Hotel Polo Towers, Raj Kumar Sharma and other 24 businessmen who have filed litigation which stalled the construction of the new market complex at Polo to withdraw the case.
“The development of the market place is for the overall interest of the public at large. There is no justification that the project should stall only due to the litigation filed some businessman,” FKJGP chief organiser Marbud Dkhar said in a statement issued here on Sunday.
He said that the interest of the people and the State should be above the interest of self centered businessmen.
It may be mentioned that the Hotel Polo Tower along with 24 others businessmen filed a litigation to oppose the move of the Government to construct the new market.
In order to modernize the marketplace and to make it more hygienic, the Central government, in the year 2011-12, sanctioned an amount of approx. Rs 21 crore for the demolition of the existing marketplace and the construction of a new one, and this project once started will take a period of 18 months to be completed.
Shillong Municipal Board, T Lyngwa earlier informed that this project has been planned and temporary arrangements have already been made for the numerous shops in a nearby area.
“We have already built well equipped temporary markets for all the shops but the construction work could not be started because of a few persons’ vested interests that has led to a case being filed in the court,” added Lyngwa.
There are 25 persons, who own shops or have some interests in the market place, and they have opposed this construction and have taken the matter to the court.
The rules and regulations of the Shillong Municipal Board clearly states that this marketplace is strictly for shops and should not be treated as a residential area but what surprises this reporter is the fact that many individuals are renting out space to families of different sizes at rates ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1500 per month and collecting rent.
Even the luxurious Hotel Polo Towers, which has been granted permission to own a go down in the marketplace, actually uses this space to house its hotel staff for almost six years now.