By Our Reporter
Shillong: Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh informed that the Department has decided to temporarily put on hold the allocation of the controversial portion of the land in the new Shillong Township where the process of acquisition is under question.
“I am aware that a question is being raised over the way the Government has acquired certain stretch of land in the New Shillong Township. Until all doubts are cleared we are not going to allocate any lands to any of the Government machinery or departments,” Ampareen who is also the MUDA chairman said while speaking to reporters here on Wednesday.
She also clarified that neither MUDA nor the Urban Affairs department is involved in the acquisition of these land.
“It is the Deputy Commissioner’s office which is acquiring the land after following all the mandatory procedures. The land is being handed over to the Department after the process of acquisition is completed,” the Urban Affairs Minister said. In fact, MUDA is only a caretaker which allocates the land to the respective departments as per the directive of the Government, Ampareen said while also pointing out that there is a wrong notion among the public that the land is being acquired by MUDA.
“The job of the Urban Affairs Department and MUDA is to locate the funds which are required for acquisition of these lands,” she said.
Earlier, the farmers from the area claimed that the land in possession of the Government at Mawdiangdiang was sold without their knowledge and consent by one Unikey Kharkongor of Laitumkhrah.
“The land has been handed down to us by our ancestors since time immemorial. We have never seen any of the family members of Unikey”, a land owner, John Kharkongor told reporters here on Tuesday. He said the farmers were surprised to learn that their land was claimed by Unikey Kharkongor.
Meanwhile, the Urban Affairs Minister informed that the Government is contemplating to acquire another 1200 hectares of land in the new Shillong Township adding that a total amount of Rs 800 crore has been set aside for this purpose.
