SHILLONG, March 16: TUR has taken strong exception to the comments made by K Hynniewta regarding its findings via an RTI regarding Meghalaya Investment Promotion Authority (MIPA) backing its claims through documents.
“TUR is in no way making baseless allegations” as claimed by Hynniewta but sharing information based on official documents including note sheets received through the RTI,” it said.
Stating that the Ex-Officio Joint Secretary of the Planning, Investment Promotion, and Sustainable Development department K Hynniewta’s statement aimed at casting aspersions on TUR and the RTI process that have been used in the past and this instance case, TUR stated, “We wish to point to the fact that this is not the first time that Mr Hynniewta is wilfully concealing information and wish to point out that even the State Information Commission had issued a warning to him during our appeal hearing, the order of which is shared here and at hokmeghalaya.in”.
“Official documents issued from the letterhead of MIPA and signed by Hynniewta himself indicate that MIPA is initiating and convening meetings regarding “repurposing” of land where departments are being summoned for meetings for the same. Official documents to this effect including petitions from civil society against this takeover of land are also shared here and on hokmeghalaya.in,” TUR added.
Accusing Hynniewta of continuing to make mendacious statements that all of MIPA’s functioning is available in the public domain, TUR alleged, “This is false and misleading. The website has no disclosures whatsoever and MIPA’s functioning is indeed opaque which prompted us to put this fact in our RTI first appeal application. Section of this appeal is sent as an attachment here”. “The press statement issued by Hynniewta is clearly with mala fide intention to undermine citizens’ efforts to use the information received through the RTI to ensure transparency and accountability in governance. As citizens, it is not only our fundamental right but our fundamental duty to use processes of law to be heard and to participate in governance”.
The state government had recently clarified that the Meghalaya Investment Promotion Authority (MIPA) is not responsible for repurposing government land or redeveloping infrastructure in Shillong.
“The responsibility for repurposing government land lies with the concerned departments, such as Urban Affairs, PWD, Forest and Environment, Tourism, and the Power department,” stated K Hynniewta, Ex-Officio Joint Secretary of the Planning, Investment Promotion, and Sustainable Development department, in a rejoinder to a news report published in this paper titled ‘Govt intends to bulldoze people through MIPA, alleges TUR’, published on Thursday.
