Land acquired with KHADC consent now rly property

SHILLONG: The Ri Bhoi district administration on Wednesday expressed surprise over the KHADC move to halt the ongoing railway construction work at Ronghuna village in Ri Bhoi on the ground that No Objection Certificate (NOC) was not obtained from the Council for carrying out the work.
Stating that it will seek legal advice on the matter, Ri Bhoi Deputy Commissioner C P Gotmare said the land was acquired and handed over to railways after obtaining the KHADC’s consent and hence it was not necessary to seek another NOC.
KHADC Executive Member (EM) in-charge of Land Hadrian Lyngdoh and members of Khasi Students’ Union North Khasi Hills District had put a stop to the ongoing railway work at Ronghuna following an inspection on Tuesday.
Subsequently, the Northeast Frontier Railway approached the Ri Bhoi Deputy Commissioner to intervene into the matter.
“The land was handed over to railways after getting consent from the KHADC. The area was duly demarcated after paying compensation to the respective land owners. It (the land) is now the legal property of the railways,” Gotmare said and added that besides taking up the matter with the KHADC the district administration will also meet the pressure group concerned to sort out the confusion.
According to Gotmare, since all the legal procedures have been followed and the land is the property of the railways, the implementing agency does not require an NOC from the KHADC to construct a railway station at Ronghuna.