SHILLONG, Dec 8: The Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisation (CoMSO), an umbrella organisation of 19 pressure groups, today expressed disappointment over the inordinate delay by the High Level Committee in submitting its final recommendation on relocation of Harijan Colony and demanded of it to expedite the matter.
“We are very disappointed. If you see the public demand for relocation has been an issue where every section of the community wants it. There is nothing communal in it and it is mainly for the reconstruction and redevelopment of the site as the areas are unhygienic and unsafe if people settle very close to the market area,” said CoMSO Chairman Robertjune Kharjahrin.
Stating that as per their knowledge, there are less legal dwellers and more illegal settlers, Kharjahrin said, “I don’t know why is it taking so much time to evict illegal settlers”.
Pointing out that the sub-committee chaired by former Urban Affairs minister Hamletson Dohling, has already submitted its report, Kharjahrin said, “Syiem of Mylliem has also almost reached the final conclusion of handing over the land to the government because the land partly belongs to the government and partly to the Syiem of Hima Mylliem so those land we have already seen that they have almost finalised”.
“The study, operation seems almost over and I don’t know why the HLC has not submitted its final recommendation to the State government’’ he questioned.
Reasoning that even if the HLC submits the final recommendations, the state government will still have to look at it, Kharjahrin said, “We demand the matter maybe speeded up. We demand from the new Urban Affairs Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar to speed up the matter and also demand the deputy chief minister who is the Chairman of the HLC to give its final recommendation to the state government”.
“We hope the government will take action as per the wish and aspirations of the people,” he added.
He also informed that the organisation will seek an appointment with the chairman of the HLC and also meet the Urban Affairs Minister transport to request and demand that the matter maybe speed up.
Maintaining that they as an organisation were pre-occupied with COVID and ILP but nevertheless it was a very important issue of the state, Kharjahrin said, “The issue is pending for quite a long time we hope that the government will take the issue seriously and we would like to see that those people who are working in the government will be relocated somewhere else and the illegal settlers should be evicted at the earliest”.