SHILLONG, Nov 15: Protest erupted on Monday as hundreds of villagers from Jalynteng village, Raid Nongkynrih, and Khyrim Syiemship, picketed the office of the Sub-Divisional Officer of Pynursla seeking the scrapping of the no-objection certificate (NOC) awarded to a public sector undertaking, POWERGRID, for installation of an electricity distribution tower in Pynursla reasoning that they were not apprised prior to issuance of the NOC.
The villagers, particularly women folk, were seen carrying placards with the demand for scrapping of the NOC issued by the Rangbah Shnong, R Nongkynrih.
One of the residents of the village, B Lyngdoh, alleged that the Rangbah Shnong had issued the NOC without the knowledge of the villagers. “We are still in the dark since the Rangbah Shnong did not convene the meeting of the Dorbar Shnong to inform if the installation of the tower were meant only to the village or it will also cater to other adjoining villages,” Lyngdoh said.
On behalf of the villagers, she voiced their wish to know whether this initiative will benefit the villagers.
According to her, the villagers had submitted a letter to both the Rangbah Shnong and the SDO to clarify on the project of the POWERGRID. “But till date we did not get any clarification on this installation of the towers,” Lyngdoh said.
She further said that the SDO had only called them for a meeting to inform that they will not be able to stop this project since POWERGRID has submitted all required documents. She added that the SDO told villagers that they should allow the project to take off. “We were shocked when curfew was clamped in the village on November 7. The village was guarded by the police and the CRPF personnel,” she alleged.
According to her, the decision to clamp curfew has put the villagers in difficulties since they are now unable to go to their agricultural land.
The villagers have slammed the Rangbah Shnong for ‘misusing’ his power through the issuance of NOC without consulting the villagers.
In his defence, the Rangbah Shnong, R Nongkynrih, has claimed that the NOC was issued after the Dorbar Shnong had met twice. “We had given the NOC since the project is meant to electrify the village. All the villagers who had attended the meeting of the Dorbar Shnong had welcomed this project,” Nongkynrih said. He admitted that they had to impose curfew since few of the women had attempted to stop the implementation of the project.