Meghalaya minister Sanbor Shullai hails draft building bye-laws for Shillong Cantonment

Meghalaya minister Sanbor Shullai on July 13 welcomed the publication of draft building bye-laws for cantonment areas, calling it a significant step towards resolving decades-old issues faced by residents of the Shillong Cantonment.

The draft regulations, published by the Ministry of Defence earlier this month, have been placed in the public domain for objections and suggestions until August 3. Once the consultation process is completed, the ministry will review the feedback before issuing the final notification.

Shullai, who represents the area as the local MLA, said residents of the Shillong Cantonment have been without a comprehensive building regulatory framework since 1989, making it difficult to construct, expand or regularise buildings.

He said the problem began after the then Congress-led state government notified a Floor Space Index (FSI) of 0.5 in 1989, leaving residents without updated building bye-laws to guide development in the area.

According to the minister, the proposed regulations will establish a legal framework for planned construction, improve civic infrastructure and address long-standing concerns of people living in the military quarters.

Shullai credited the progress to the joint efforts of the Shillong Cantonment Board, officials of the Ministry of Defence, the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and elected representatives.

He said that, as an invitee member of the Shillong Cantonment Board, he attended several meetings on the issue, some of which lasted more than eight hours, to resolve technical matters and ensure there were no pending issues from the government's side.

The minister also said he travelled to New Delhi on multiple occasions with BJP leaders to highlight the difficulties faced by cantonment residents and urge the Union government to introduce the new bye-laws.

Shullai said a meeting with the leaseholders' association would be held soon to gather suggestions and objections from residents before the August 3 deadline. The consolidated feedback will be forwarded to the Ministry of Defence for consideration before the bye-laws are finalised and brought into effect.