SHILLONG: In the absence of suitable land, the State Government is in a fix as far as the implementation of the proposed hawkers’ policy is concerned.
Speaking on the issue, Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh on Saturday said that the biggest challenge for the Government right now is to find a suitable land for relocation of the hawkers.
The fact that land in Meghalaya primarily belongs to private individuals only compounds the government’s problem and the land tenure system prevalent in the State left Lyngdoh non-committal as far as the implementation of the policy is concerned.
“I am not in a position to look for a permanent solution to these problems,” she said.
Hundreds of hawkers are seen operating in the commercial zone of the city from Motphran to Khyndailad causing obstruction to the movement of the pedestrians and traffic.
The proposed policy is aimed at safeguarding the rights of the hawkers besides defining the role of the government in the rehabilitation of the hawkers. It also looks to demarcate areas in the city which can be converted into hawker-free zones.
Earlier in the meeting between the pro-ILP groups and Government, the pressure groups had also raised concern over the growing menace of hawkers in the State.
The State Government, meanwhile, cannot decline to implement the policy since Meghalaya has to follow the National Hawkers’ Policy.
