on Friday. (ST)
SHILLONG: The KHADC Trade department on Friday shut down 11 shops in Iewduh which were conducting their business without legal trading licenses.
The shops were sealed after it was discovered that the traders were carrying out businesses in Iewduh (Bara Bazaar) for the past many year without obtaining licenses from the district council.
The raid was conducted in 22 shops, Executive Member in charge Trade, Latiplang Kharkongor, informed.
“We had served a show cause notice two months back to these traders. We then issued a 45-day closure notice to the shop owners after they failed to comply with the show cause notice,” Kharkongor said.
Informing that closure notices were issued to the traders after a gap of twenty years, Kharkongor said that as many as 980 shops in Iewduh are under KHADC scanner.
“So far we have closed 51 shops in Iewduh,” the EM added.
“We will soon conduct inspections in all the areas falling under the jurisdiction of the district council and illegal setting up of businesses would not be allowed in the future,” he said. Kharkongor further informed that the KHADC has made certain amendments to the Trading by Non-Tribals Regulation Act, 1954, to further strengthen it to protect the interest of the local indigenous people. The Council has also decided to stop issuing fresh licenses and has also sent a notice to the Syiem to stop issuing no objection certificates.