From Our Correspondent
NONGPOH: In what could be termed as good news for the unemployed youths, the Urban & Rural Development Minister, Ampareeen Lyngdoh on Thursday evening informed that the unemployed youth will be given the topmost priority in allocation of stalls in the Nongpoh Urban Shopping Complex to be inaugurated soon at Nongpoh.
This decision was taken in a meeting which was held at Circuit House, Nongpoh soon after the arrival of the Minister from Delhi.
The meeting was held between the Minister with the representative of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), comprising of the KSU, RBYF and HNYF, the Synjuk ki Nongshong Dukan, the Nongpoh Town Committee and the Nongpoh Raid. During the meeting, the JAC handed over the memorandum to the Minister.
In the memorandum, the JAC demanded from the Minister that the residents of Nongpoh area who were earning their livelihood as roadside vendors and were affected by the four laning project in Ri Bhoi should get their preference for accommodation in the Shopping Complex. They also stated that necessary steps should be taken to ensure that there is no scope of benami practices by anybody.
In the memorandum, the JAC informed the Minister that they were concerned over the recent decision of the Nongpoh Town Committee (NTC) for creating special quota for the Rangbah Shnong and Secretary Shnong in allocating stalls in the Market Complex. They demanded the Minister to obliterate their decision. They also mentioned in the memorandum about the misusing of government funded vehicles by the NTC in which the NTC had used the vehicles in transporting sand, blocks and soils instead of using them in cleaning the solid waste in Nongpoh Town.
Lyngdoh, replying to the memorandum submitted by the JAC said, “The Government has created the asset through the Market Complex for benefitting the unemployed youth and also those genuine shopkeepers who were earning their livelihood as shops vendors. Therefore, the stalls in the complex will be firstly allotted to those unemployed youth and the genuine shopkeepers who were affected by the four laning project”.
She also said that, the Urban & Rural Development will soon form a Managing Committee which will he headed by the Principal Secretary of the department to look into the matter and within the committee there will be the Sub Committee which will be headed by the Ri Bhoi Deputy Commissioner along with the MLA, MDC and the representative of the NTC, NGO’s etc for screening in the allotment of the stall to those deserved unemployed youths and the genuine shopkeepers.
In the complaint logged through the memorandum on the misuse of vehicles by the NTC, Lyngdoh said, “The department is concern over the misdeed of the Town Committee and also strongly warned the representative of the Town Committee on their acts.”
“The revenue generated from the Urban Shopping Complex will not be utilized by the State Government but the money will go to the account of the committee which will be utilized in other developmental works to be carried out in the Nongpoh Town and adjacent area”, Lyngdoh added.