Residents of Harijan Colony sniff land deal

SHILLONG, Feb 18: The Harijan Colony Panchayat Committee has accused the state government of pressuring the Syiem of Mylliem for transferring the colony land to the government through the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council.
Speaking to The Shillong Times here on Thursday, the committee’s secretary, Gurjit Singh said that the land was given to them by the Syiem of Mylliem in 1853 and the incumbent Syiem has no right on the plot.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) is reportedly being signed between the Syiem of Mylliem and the state government involving the transfer of land and deal is being facilitated by the KHADC since the Syiem is under the council.
Singh said the MoU is not a legal document through which anyone can claim ownership over the land while claiming they have legal documents to prove that the Syiem of Mylliem had handed over the land to them.
Singh also accused the High Level Committee (HLC) of going beyond its jurisdiction, which he said has no right to draft such MoUs.
“If there is any plan to ink an MoU, it should be done by the government and the job of the HLC is only to give recommendation to the government,” he said, accusing the HLC of trampling on their rights.
KHADC’s Chief Executive Member, Titosstarwell Chyne said that the council will give the land to the state government on lease and the draft MoU has been sent back to the HLC for necessary vetting.
The HLC on Harijan Colony was constituted by the state government in 2018 to look into the demand to shift the colony to another location after a row in June 2018 spiralled into a violent unrest that paralysed life in the area for days.
The residents of the colony continue to live under 24-hour police vigil.