By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 1: The NPP on Friday said the MDA-2.0 coalition government in the state is undecided on the Centre’s proposal to connect Shillong with railway.
“Till date, it is neither for nor against which means the state government has not yet agreed to railways coming to the state,” NPP state president and Rajya Sabha member WR Kharlukhi said.
He said although they are a part of NDA government at the Centre, yet they have to go according to the will of the people.
Uncertainty continues over Tetelia-Byrnihat and Byrnihat-New Shillong projects. The Northeast Frontier Railway authorities are still optimistic that the two projects will take off once all obstacles are cleared.
The work of Tetelia-Byrnihat project has remained stalled for the past few years in Meghalaya after more than 75% of its work was completed in Assam.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma recently indicated that central funds allocated for the two projects in Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi districts “might be diverted to other areas of Meghalaya where there is no opposition.”
Various NGOs and unions in the state stand opposed to the projects. They insist that a mechanism, such as Inner Line Permit (ILP), be put in place before the introduction of railway.
They fear that rail links to Khasi Hills and Shillong might trigger large-scale influx of “outsiders”, which will be a threat to the state’s microscopic indigenous population.
They have already made it clear that they will not even discuss railways as long as ILP is not implemented in the state.
