By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 11: The state government is awaiting the order of the High Court of Meghalaya on the affidavit filed by it mentioning the rejection of the government blueprint by the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) for relocation of 342 families from Them Iew Mawlong.
“We informed the court through the affidavit that the HPC did not accept the proposal of the government. We might meet next week to take a call on the issue but the time is not fixed since we are waiting for the court order,” Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar said on Thursday.
Dhar, who is also the Urban Affairs Minister, said the HPC’s demands were too high and it is not possible for the government to fulfil them. The HPC has rejected the relocation proposal (blueprint) of the government terming the same as “incomplete, unsuitable, unprepared, unfair and undemocratic”.
The HPC has alleged that the “entire exercise is an ill-founded relocation theory, which actually compels the resident citizens of Punjabi Lane to forego their rights, title, and interest over whatever small land portion in the colony and to accept the prison cells-like accommodation being offered” in the proposed blueprint.
“Our original demands presented in the eight-point resolution still stand and we will not buckle under political duress merely because it is convenient for the government to do so and simply because due to the passage of time, the land has become a commercial goldmine,” the HPC has reiterated.