SHILLONG, April 25: State Congress chief, Vincent H Pala on Monday linked the controversial memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the Assam government to the under-construction five-star hotel at Khanapara.
He told reporters the state government took up the issue of the interstate border dispute only after some “big shots” in the government had taken over the hotel’s ownership.
According to him, there was confusion in terms of the administrative jurisdiction. He said the land on which the hotel is being built falls under Meghalaya but the building permission was taken from Assam.
Pala said the attempt to resolve the boundary row was to ensure that the hotel comes to Meghalaya so that it can be issued licences for gambling and online gaming by the state government.
He said the National People’s Party-led government made changes to the building bye-laws within a month after the Urban Affairs Department (UAD) was taken away from Hamletson Dohling of the People’s Democratic Front. The five-star hotel has more than ten floors.
The UAD is currently held by Sniawbhalang Dhar of the NPP.
“If we examine properly, the first thing the government did was they changed the Urban Affairs Minister and then, amended the building bye-laws. After this, they tried to resolve the boundary issue and now, after the signing of the MoU, they are planning to issue licence for gambling,” Pala said.
He claimed the attempt to resolve the boundary dispute was not for the sake of the people but to protect and serve the interests of those in the government who purchased the five-star hotel.
The Lok Sabha member also claimed that the MoU signed on the first six areas of differences is illegal on the grounds that there are no witnesses. “Whenever you sign an agreement, there should be a witness. This MoU will not be accepted in the court of law,” he said.
He said the state government had rushed to sign the agreement without consulting the Hima, Syiem and Autonomous District Councils.
“What is the need to rush to resolve the problem which has been pending for so many decades? The government could have waited for another 15 days by trying to reach out to all the stakeholders,” the state Congress chief said.
He questioned why the government is against reviewing the MoU when majority of the people are unhappy about it. “The attempt to solve the border issue is creating more problems,” he said.