NEW DELHI: Thousands of followers belonging to Khasi Jainitia Presbyterian Synod Sephngi might finally have a Church in the national capital with Lt Governor Anil Baijal assuring the religious leaders to favourably consider allotting them a plot of land for place of worship very soon.
The Synod, part of the Presbyterian Church of India (PCI), is one of the mainline Protestant Churches in India, with over one million adherents and headquartered in Shillong.
The Church leaders met Baijal under the leadership of Minister for Information & Public Relations A L Hek to press for the vital demand.
This will be the only Presbyterian Church in Delhi when it comes up.
The delegation submitted a memorandum to the Lt Governor on Saturday demanding a piece of land for the largest section of the Christians in the North East. This will go a long way in meeting the spiritual needs of the Khasi Jaintia community, they told the head of the Delhi government.
Incidentally, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which is in charge of land allotment in the capital, had allotted “institutional land at concessional rate applicable to religious, social and charitable organisations” in 2014 at Rohini, but the allotment was subsequently cancelled and no alternative land has since been given despite repeated reminders.
Baijal said he would hold a meeting with the vice-chairman of the DDA immediately and take up the issue with him. The Synod had also submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, when he visited Shillong in December 2017 and followed up the matter with the Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons.
The place of worship will also foster goodwill and faith in the authority and spread brotherhood among different communities in the national capital, they said. As of now there is no Church of this faith in Delhi,
The Church leaders talking to the media had all praise for Hek who organised the meeting and is following up their demand. There are thousands of Khasi Jaintia people in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) belonging to this section of Christianity.
