Relocation from Harijan Colony: Defence land plan hits obstacle

SHILLONG, Jan 22: The Defence land option mulled by the government for the relocation of residents of Harijan Colony has hit a roadblock despite constant efforts by the government to negotiate with the Defence authorities.
“While the other option (relocation to Bivar Road) is still open, this will be a wonderful option and a win-win situation. We are talking but we have to respect the Armed Forces Rules which are followed by the army across the country,” Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Wednesday.
Informing that after they went through the Armed Forces Rules, they realised that the space is becoming too small for the relocation, he said, “That is where we are stuck and the option of getting the Defence land seems quite difficult now although negotiations are on.”
He also clarified that the option of shifting the resident to the Defence land was nowhere in the picture when they started off with the relocation exercise.
“This is a piece of land which we saw and we thought why can’t we request the army since they are not doing anything about it. We thought that we will try the option of talking to them and that is how the discussions started. It is not their duty to give us that land,” he added.