SHILLONG, Oct 21: Secretary of Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC), Gurjit Singh has written a letter to East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Isawanda Laloo seeking ‘no intervention’ by the district authorities or anyone else and security and safety of religious institutions and the residents of Harijan Colony area.
Residents of Harijan Colony held a meeting at the local Gurdwara Sahib on Thursday following which the HPC sent the letter to the East Khasi Hills DC.
The HPC categorically stated that as the matter is subjudice in the High Court of Meghalaya as well as the Supreme Court, any intervention by any office in this regard would amount to contempt of court.
“For the last two hundred years, we have lived here peacefully, worked very hard to earn our livelihood and have contributed substantially to the welfare of the people of the area,” the letter stated.
Meanwhile, talking to a section of the press, HPC secretary Gurjit Singh questioned why the state government should not entertain delegations from outside the state on the Harijan Colony issue when delegations from Meghalaya can go to other parts of the country freely.
“This is an insult because in India we can move around freely and this is what the Constitution says,” Singh said while reacting to the request made by State Planning Board (SPB) Chairman Lambor Malngiang to the state government to snub any delegation from outside the state on the Harijan Colony issue.
He pointed out that the statuary body of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee was formed through an act of Parliament and said, “Why can’t they visit us and hold small meetings?”“They are Sikh leaders,” he said while adding that religious sentiments should be respected.
Reacting to Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong’s statement on the relocation move, Singh said, “The Deputy CM wants to force us to leave. He has been asking various departments since the last three years to evict us.”
The HPC secretary also dismissed the statement of Tynsong that the high level committee headed by the latter had given multiple opportunities to the residents to prove their ownership of the land.
“If he claims that he has given us an opportunity to submit documents or letters then show us the proof of when he issued the letter and when we received it,” Singh said.
He also added that the government has not come out either with a copy of the HLC recommendations nor of the tripartite agreement signed between the Hima Mylliem, the Shillong Municipal Board and the state government.
Singh also invited the government, members of NGOs and pressure groups to come and talk to them about the status of the ownership of land and check all the documents in their possession.