SHILLONG: The Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR) has reiterated its opposition to the State Government’s plans of developing New Shillong Township to de-congest Shillong city.
Addressing a meeting here on ‘Urban development, townships and displacement’, TUR leader, Angela Rangad said that the organization would continue to fight against land grabbing and setting up of the new Shillong township and the group will not accept any model of development which is based on land grabbing.
On the other hand, land right activist of Ekta Parishad, Ramesh Sharma while speaking at the meeting rued that people are losing lands to Industrialisation, mining, urbanization and land grabbing even as he stressed on the need to collectively raise voices on the need to have a new Urban Land Ceiling Act (ULCA) in place.
Sharma sounded a warning when he said there has been a massive change in the peripheries of big and small cities after repealing of the ULCA in 1988.
He was of the opinion that the repercussion of repealing the act has had a negative impact on the land issue.
The per capita availability of land has declined from 0.89 hectares in 1951 to 0.37 hectares in 1991 and projected to slide down to 0.20 hectares in 2035, Sharma said adding this is not due to population pressure which is a big myth as propagated by demographic experts in the country.
The meeting focussed on the ramifications of forced town expansions based on land grabbing as opposed to organic natural growth of towns guided by essential construction and building bye laws.