Meghalaya: Harijan Panchayat Committee yet to give consent on government's relocation proposal

Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister and chairman of the High-Level Committee on Harijan Colony, Prestone Tynsong said that communication from the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) is still awaited to move forward on the matter.

Speaking to the media the minister said, "Now the court has given some kind of direction and they (HPC) have not communicated anything to the government".

The Meghalaya High Court on October 21 directed the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) to respond to the proposal of the state government's decision to relocate 342 residents of Punjabi Lane in Shillong within a month.

While hearing the matter, the Division Bench of the high court said the state has submitted a proposal, along with the blueprint for the reallocation and the same has been forwarded to the HPC.

“Since the respondent committee says that it is assessing the proposal, the respondents are requested to respond to the proposal within the next four weeks. Let the matter appear two months hence,” the bench said.

The next hearing has been scheduled on February 16.

The state government on September 29 presented the blueprint to the HPC during a meeting, indicating that multi-story flats will be constructed at the existing official quarters of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) for the relocation of the 342 families.