Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today said that the State government respects the stand of the different commissions on the issue of shifting residents of Harijan Colony from Them Iew Mawlong even as he added that it will challenge those in court.
It may be mentioned that the National Commission for Minorities has directed the Meghalaya government to maintain status quo on the issue of shifting residents of Sweeper Colony from Them Iew Mawlong.
“We are very clear on the stand of the government and as I said that it is an issue that has been pending for too long. We need to find a solution to this issue. It may not be the simple solution but we will work towards finding an amicable solution,” Sangma told media persons at the NPP office here.
On the claims made by Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) that the land was gifted to them by the Syiem of Hima Mylliem, Sangma also said that the High Level Committee (HLC) set up by the government had given opportunity, time and again for different stakeholders or individuals or groups to come and submit any kind of documentation that they could have to claim or counterclaim regarding the ownership or gift of the land.
“Sadly, nobody has come forward with any kind of information to the committee,” he added.
According to the chief minister, the reports of the committee showed that nobody came forward with any documentation in spite of being given multiple opportunities.
On reports that the Punjab government will seek the intervention of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the matter, Sangma said that one cannot stop anybody if they have concerns for their people.
Sangma said that it is not something wrong that the other governments are doing by showing their concern and that it was natural they will show their concerns.
“But it should be clear to all these governments and individuals that whatever the government of Meghalaya will do, will be legally sound and we will follow legal procedures and all the procedures required,” Sangma added.
Stating that the government is dealing with the matter on the basis of proper documentation and legal standing, the chief minister also added that one should not take the move of the government in a wrong sense.
“We have done a lot of homework on this. We will break this into smaller problems and we are resolving this one by one and the last part which is most complicated (to relocate settlers who are not employees of government departments) we have asked the Urban Affairs Department to give us what are the options that they have,” he said.
“We are hopeful that soon we will find a complete solution to this problem,” Sangma added.
The chief minister also pointed out that it was important to understand that whatever the government of Meghalaya is going to do it is after three years of detailed homework.
Sangma said that it is important that individuals and the leaders from the government of Punjab need to understand that the ownership of the land is with the government in terms of the lease that has been signed with the Syiem of Mylliem.
He also said that the HLC recommendations are not that people from Sweeper Colony will be simply left on the streets.
“It is being made to look that everybody is going to be simply thrown out,” the chief minister said.
According to Sangma, employees working with the municipal board and other government departments who are staying in the colony will be asked to shift to the official residential complexes of those departments.
