SHILLONG: The government will convene a meeting with KHADC and headmen to address the issues concerning extension of building bylaws beyond municipal areas.
Urban and Municipal Affairs Minister Hamlet Dohling informed the Assembly on Tuesday that the government will hold a meeting with KHADC and members of the Ka Synjuk Ki Nongshynshar Shnorig Ka Bri U Hynniewtrep to find a long-term solution.
He was responding to the call attention motion moved by Congress legislator PT Sawkmie, who wanted the government to denotify the census towns, including his constituency Mawlai from the purview of the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) building bylaws.
According to Sawkmie, people face harassment while applying for building permission from MUDA.
Moreover, another area of concern is that labour cess tax is imposed on residents for employing workers.
Dohling said several decisions were taken in the last joint meeting convened on December 14 last year by the state government under the chairmanship of Mukul Sangma where the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council and the members of Ka Synjuk Ki Nongshynshar Shnorig Ka Bri U Hynniewtrep were present.
One of the decisions was that the KHADC should notify the town committees in the state and furnish the list to the Urban Affairs Department.
The department on receiving the list will appoint town committees as Local Authority under sub-section 1 under section 2 of the Meghalaya Town and Country Planning Act, 1973 for the purpose of implementing the Meghalaya Building Bye-laws outside Municipal areas.
MUDA will be the authority to implement building bylaws only in municipal areas of the State.
Dohling said since this subject is pending before the High Court of Meghalaya, a petition will be filed by the state government before the court on decisions taken in the December 14 meeting.
Giving a background of the building bylaws, Dohling said the Meghalaya government on January 13, 1989, as per sub-section(2) of Section 1 of the Meghalaya Town and Country Planning Act(Assam Town and Country Planning Act, 1959 (Assam Act 2 of 1960) as adapted and amended in 1973, brought into force the Act in all the areas of the state.
MUDA enforced the Meghalaya building bylaws 2001 for regulating construction and maintenance of buildings. The Meghalaya building bylaws 2001 was applicable to all urban areas within the state.
Subsequently, the revised Meghalaya building bylaws 2011 was enforced and published in the official gazette of Meghalaya through a notification on July 21, 2011, and it extends to all Master Plan areas and scheme areas notified and to be notified from time to time.
As per the Meghalaya Municipal Act, 1973, every town for which a Master Plan has been notified or any area that has been declared as Scheme Area, there will be restriction in the form of zoning regulations, land use plans and building bylaws and the same will be enforced by an Authority.
In Meghalaya, master plans notified for Shillong, Tura and Jowai including Byrnihat have been declared as Scheme Area.
Accordingly, unit offices have been set up by MUDA in these towns to implement the Master Plan, the Scheme and the Building by laws.
He said for Shillong, implementation of Master Plan, land use and building by laws by MUDA within the Shillong Municipality have been going on from early 90’s without much resistance.
Dohling pointed out that it was only after the recent order of the High Court on high rise buildings that MUDA had to issue fresh notification informing the public that the building bylaws will be applicable for the entire Master Plan areas of Shillong, which not only include Shillong Municipal Board but also other census towns and neighbouring villages covering 174 sqkm.
“Thereafter, a series of protests from different stakeholders took place and after a meeting with the state government, MUDA was compelled to issue the notification for keeping the Meghalaya building bylaws in abeyance in the rural components of Shillong,” Dohling said.
He, however, added that the High Court has found this was inconsistent with a PIL filed by Tirot Sing Syiemlieh and hence stayed the notification of MUDA. The implication of this is that the Meghalaya building bylaws are now operational in the entire Master Plan area of Shillong covering 174 sqkm.
