SHILLONG, Dec 14: The State Government on Tuesday asserted that the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) is free to approach the High Court on the Harijan colony issue and if the State Government has violated any Court ruling then they are subjected to contempt of court.
“The claim that what the Government is doing is illegal is their opinion but as far as Government is concerned we feel our position is legally tenable so it’s best to let the court decide,” said Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong who was also heading the High Level Committee constituted by the State Government on the Harijan colony issue.
On the allegations of the HPC that the State Government paid no heed to the High Court order to maintain status quo and instead went ahead with the relocation bid, Tynsong repeated the Government stance that if they have violated the High Court order they would be subject to contempt of court.
“There is no point deliberating on this issue because it is a case of contestation of opinions, so let the Court interpret and decide the course of action.” Tynsong observed.
Making it clear that the government is willing to talk to anyone including those who frequent the state on the issue, he however said, “We are willing to talk but to say that the government is unsympathetic to the cause of the residents is wrong. We do not oppress anyone who lives here; on the contrary we take care of all the citizens,” adding that it is the responsibility of the State Government as guaranteed by the Constitution of India to make sure that every citizen of India living in Meghalaya must be taken care of
irrespective of whether he/she is tribal or non- tribal.
To a query on the name of the community being mentioned time and gain in the various statements of the HPC, Tynsong said, “How can you say that injustice is being meted out to a particular community? The state government is bound to take care of every community be it tribal, non-tribal, OBC etc.
“As a government we are not here to communalise the issue. We are here to protect each and every citizen of the State who stays and lives with us here in Meghalaya”.
Tynsong further stated that Iew Mawlong is an area that has become worse than a slum, therefore the state government has taken a considered view that the health and hygiene of people living there is a matter of grave concern and therefore they need to be shifted elsewhere.
Arguing that the Them Metor area is also part of the Iewduh he feels it should not become a residential area. It is on those considerations that the government has submitted a detailed report from the High Level Committee to the government which in turn took a decision to relocate the residents to some other place.
Stating that the issue of relocation has been entrusted to the Urban Affairs Department and the Shillong Municipal Board Tynsong said “Instructions have been given to the SMB to shift their temporary office from Bivar road to another building. The repairing work of that building has been completed and once that is shifted then they need to immediately go for the repairing of those quarters and thereafter shift those employees who stay in Them Metor to a proper place”.
He informed that the Government has also written to the various departments to make arrangements and shift their employees who reside in that area since Government has taken over possession of that plot. Tynsong stated that Urban Affairs Department has to start redeveloping that particular place.
To a query that an emissary of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Amritsar (SAD) led by Simranjit Singh Mann reached Shillong and sought the Governor Satya Pal Malik’s intervention into the Harijan Colony issue and even requesting deployment of an army contingent in the vicinity of the Harijan Colony, Tynsong queried, “Deploy the army for what? There is no war. Is there any battlefield here that we need to deploy the army? I am not aware of that”.
Tynsong requested the concerned stakeholders to cooperate with the State Government and not to assume that the State Government will disown them.
“They are human beings; they are our brothers and sisters so leave it to the wisdom of the State Government. We will take care of them as much as possible,” Tynsong added.
