SHILLONG, June 12: The state government has identified a plot behind the Reid Provincial Chest Hospital at Jhalupara for relocating the residents of Them Iew Mawlong.
“So far, this is the only piece of land identified by the state government. The Urban Affairs department is on the job of identifying more lands for the relocation,” an official said on Sunday.
Replying to a query, the official said the total area of the plot behind the RP Chest Hospital is being ascertained.
He said the department will prepare the blueprint once the government finalises the land. “Completing the exercise will depend on a decision arrived at between the two parties,” he added.
The Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) had recently stated that it was awaiting the government blueprint on the proposed relocation before contemplating its next move.
HPC secretary Gurjit Singh had said they were clueless about the blueprint after almost two months of their last meeting with the government.
The HPC has agreed to the relocation from Them Iew Mawlong provided the government gives 200 square metres of land for each family in the European Ward and also bears the full cost of the construction of their houses.
Following the meeting with the HPC in April, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong had instructed the Urban Affairs department to prepare a blueprint for the proposed relocation and share it with the residents of Harijan Colony.
In a related development, the advocate general had told the High Court of Meghalaya that the two parties were trying to negotiate a settlement, following which the court listed the next hearing on July 13.
