SHILLONG: Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), CEM HS Shylla has demanded the state government to de-notify the notification of January 13, 1989 to extend the Meghalaya Town & Country (T &C) Planning Act, 1973 to the autonomous areas.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, he said, “All along there have been discussions on Meghalaya Town Country Planning Act, 1973 which states that the Act will be extended to the whole of Meghalaya excluding the autonomous district council.”
“We had demanded that the state government should de-notify the notification January 13, 1989 to extend the Meghalaya Town Country Planning Act, 1973 to the autonomous areas,” he added.
He referred to the notification from the Urban Affairs Department, dated February 1, 2019 which states that the public desirous for applying building permission in the areas outside municipal limits may approach either MUDA for municipal areas/scheme areas or the autonomous district councils for areas excluding municipal areas/scheme areas for obtaining sanction of building permission, occupancy certificates etc.
The Cabinet has allowed the ADCs to grant building permission in non-municipal areas while the ADCs will have to implement the MUDA building bye-laws in scheduled areas.
Shylla has expressed his resentment over this decision as he said that the people had been opposing MUDA building bye-laws all along.
Meanwhile, Urban Affairs Minister, Hamlet spoke to reporters during the day and said, “We want the building bye-laws to be uniform, and we don’t want the building bye-laws to be different in Khasi hills, Jaintia Hills and Garo hills.”
Stating that the KHADC and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Councils (JHADC) have submitted their building bye-laws while Garo Hills Autonomous District Councils (GHADC) hasn’t, he said, “We cannot wait till when Garo hills will submit.”
He added that there was a meeting with all the CEMs of the ADCs, and the Synjuk ki Nongsynshar Shnong ka Bri U Hynniewtrep in which a decision was made that the three ADCs should submit their building bye-laws to the state government.