In a change from the more aggressive posture it adopted before the October 30 by-elections, the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance, through the Chief Minister, said today that the government is keen to solve the Sweepers Lane conundrum in an amicable fashion.
Conrad Sangma claimed today that only a few disgruntled individuals are against the government’s decision to relocate the residents there.
Forty individuals (and their families) who work in government service have already been resettled from the colony, the CM informed.
“We are ready to talk to them,” Sangma said of those resisting resettlement. “We are ready to discuss the issues with them and find an amicable way to resolve the issue.”
The government, he added, is determined, though, that the issue be settled.
“There are some individuals who are against it but, if you take the overall picture, the people there do not think along the same lines,” he said.
The government has a three-phase plan to resolve the matter. The first is the question of land ownership, which was transferred to the state government only last week. Phase two will see the Shillong Municipal Board office moved, while the third will see the government employees who are residents of Sweepers Lane be moved into alternative quarters elsewhere in the city. The state government also plans to make provision for those residents of the area who are not government employees.
