New Shillong Township row
SHILLONG: The controversy over the Government’s proposal to acquire land for the New Shillong Township (NST) project took a new turn on Wednesday with Urban Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh expressing the government’s willingness to accept suggestions and grievances from the affected villagers in ‘black and white’.
“If we are going wrong anywhere, the people should let us know officially and put down their grievances in black in white,” Ampareen said.
The Urban Affairs Minister was reacting to developments on Tuesday when residents of as many as 14 villages, Rangbah Shnong and local NGOs held a meeting against the NST plan and issued a two-week deadline to the State Government to come out with a written assurance of stopping land acquisition for the proposed Project along the Mawdiangdiang stretch till Diengpasoh village.
Maintaining that the Government was in no hurry to acquire the land, Lyngdoh said that the government was trying to bring in more development and also planning to decongest the capital city.
“As far as land alienation is concerned, the department had already mapped the areas to be covered under this project excluding cultivated land,” Lyngdoh said, adding that the government will not do anything that is anti-people.
“The people should leave the judgement to us and if they feel that something is wrong somewhere, then they are most welcome to provide us with suggestions in black and white,” she added.
Stating that opposition will pose hurdles for the development and growth of the city, Lyngdoh said, “Look at Shillong now, a city where there is a complete failure of urban management and traffic but whom do we blame for such failures?”
Ampareen was also of the view that if the city had been well-planned 20 years ago, Shillong wouldn’t have faced the problem it is facing now.
Questioning the real agitators on the scene, Lyngdoh said, “Are the locals seriously concerned or is it that some interest groups are tutoring them? My stand is that development will only come if certain initiatives like the NST are implemented, leaving no room for any kind of remorse in the coming 10 years.”
