The Urban Affairs Department has proposed that the residents of the Sweeper Colony at Them Ïewmawlong be rehoused in the existing quarters of the Shillong Municipal Board.
The resettlement has proven contentious after the government’s first choice of area – around the TB Hospital in Mawbah – drew fierce opposition from locals over fears of overcrowding.
The Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC), representing the 342 families living in Them Ïewmawlong, wanted housing in the European Ward.
The quarters are adjacent to the SMB office at Bishop Cotton Road. The Urban Affairs Department submitted the blueprint to Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong today. Tynsong is the chair of the high level committee appointed to deal with the issue of resettlement.
The Deputy CM said that, according to the department’s rough estimates, all 342 families will be able to be resettled in the quarters once work on renovating them is completed. There will likely be 12 blocks of flats with 30 flats per unit, he stated.
The department has now been told to formulate a detailed project report, following which the government will hold a meeting with the HPC.
