PAC seeks details on non-payment of compensation to land owners

SHILLONG: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on Friday questioned the various government departments on non-payment of compensation to 17 land owners including the defense establishment who had parted with their land for expansion of the runway of the Shillong Airport at Umroi.
The Committee, headed by its Chairman, Hoping Stone Lyngdoh, visited Umroi on Friday to verify complaints made by the 17 land owners against the authorities for non-payment of the land compensation.
The chairman was accompanied by other members of the Committee including UDP legislator Paul Lyngdoh and Congress legislators Ronnie Lyngdoh and Pynshngain N Syiem.
“We have asked the various departments to submit details of the land acquisition process and the disbursement of compensation to the land owners within one week,” PAC member Ronnie Lyngdoh said, while informing that the Committee had taken up the matter acting on complaints from fourteen land owners.
Lyngdoh further informed that the Committee has directed the Ri Bhoi Deputy Commissioner’s Office and the Land Revenue and Transport departments to furnish the details to enable the Committee to take a final call   on the issue.
He added that the Committee was unable to issue any kind of directive for payment of the land compensation since the members wanted to go through the details of the matter.
It is pertinent to note that an amount of Rs.49,45,96,111 was disbursed to 291 land owners while an amount of Rs.8 crore has been kept in the custody of the Ri Bhoi deputy commissioner for payment of compensation to those land owners who had not claimed the same.
Incidentally, Revenue Minister R.C. Laloo had, earlier, informed that the government was waiting with the money to pay to the 17 land owners but they had not come forward to claim the same.
“We are ready to pay the compensation if the land owners come forward to claim the same. The defense establishment is due to get compensation of Rs.5,20,29,740 while 16 other land owners are entitled to a total compensation of Rs.41,43,571,” Laloo had said.