Survey of land in final stages, says Urban Affairs Minister
SHILLONG: Despite persistent opposition from the land owners and some NGOs to the State Government’s move to acquire 2000 acres of land for the proposed New Shillong Township (NST) project, Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh on Tuesday said the survey for the proposed acquisition of land would be completed in three months’ time.
Ampareen said that the officials were preparing the details of the plans of the Government for developmental activities in New Shillong Township and added that the survey was in its final stage.
When asked about the opposition of land owners and NGOs to the Government plans of acquiring land, the Minister said, “We are doing the necessary exercise and my interaction with stakeholders indicates that they in the area will not say no to developmental activities.”
“Shillong has been expanding in an unplanned manner and it is necessary to ensure that any further expansion of the city takes place in a planned manner,” she added.
Citing the unavailability of land in Shillong, the Minister said, “We are even finding it difficult to arrange for 10 feet of land to install transformers in my constituency.”
Recently, traditional heads of Nongkrem Raid including the Lyngdoh and Lyngskor had threatened to take the matter to the apex court if the government did not give up its plans of acquiring community land for the New Shillong Township project.
The Minister also sounded a word of caution, saying that in case of any natural disaster in the city, people would not be able to receive timely assistance as there are many inaccessible localities within the heart of the city.
“Everybody here talks about congestion but can anyone give us the land?” the Minister questioned.