The Meghalaya High Court today ordered the State government and KHADC to remove two illegal and authorised buildings located on the Umiam lake side of the Guwahati to Shillong highway.
The order was issued by the division bench of the High Court after the KHADC informed the court that the two construction works on the Umiam Lake side which included Moon View Café owned by Philosopher Iawphniaw and Ever Banalari (Restaurant cum Guest House) owned by Banalari Khongwar are illegal and unauthorised.
The court also directed that immediate notices be issued to Iawphniaw and Khongwar with the intimation that the matter will be taken up by the court on September 29.
“Both the State and the District Council should take immediate steps in accordance with law in respect of the offending construction works,” the High Court said.
The court also asked senior lawyer S P Mahanta, who is assisting the Court as Amicus Curiae, to ensure that the copies of this order are immediately reached to the owners of Moon View Cafe and Ever Banalari (Restaurant cum Guest House).
“If the owners, in the usual style, attempt to dodge the service, copies of the notices should be prominently pasted on the outer walls of the two construction works for the owners to be deemed to have due notice thereupon. Photographs will be taken of the notices being pasted on the outer wall, if the owners or the owners’ associates seek to evade receipt of the copy of the order,” the High Court said.
As far as the Hills Cafe which is next to the Mahindra showroom, its owner Cannyson N. Marbaniang told the High Court through his lawyer that the cafe is on the hill side of the road and not on the lake side.
However, the State government said that Hills Cafe, even if it is on the other side of the road from Umiam Lake, has been constructed without obtaining any license or permission and the State Pollution Control Board has serious reservations pertaining to the construction and activity undertaken at the site.
During the hearing of a PIL pertaining to the cleanliness of the Umiam Lake on September 12, the State government has told the High Court that two buildings had come up by the Umiam Lake which, according to the government, had been constructed without obtaining necessary permission or clearance.
“Indeed, two separate works of construction on the lake side of the Guwahati to Shillong highway, and to the left if one were to go from Shillong to Guwahati, were in plain view and such construction works have been going on over the last several months. It must be recorded that the GS highway is probably the only road used by all officials travelling out of Shillong, particularly if using the local airport at Umroi or the larger airport in Guwahati,” the High Court said today.
In the previous order of September 12, the High Court observed that since the land at both sites may have been owned or under the control of the KHADC, the council which had been added as a respondent to the present proceedings, should indicate the character of the two ongoing construction projects.
During today’s hearing, the KHADC through its lawyer informed the court that two notices dated September 16, 2022 and September 21, 2022 have been issued to the owners of three buildings that are under construction.
Meanwhile, the High Court will hear the matter again on September 29. It is expected that a report would be filed by the State government and KHADC about the action taken to remove the illegal buildings.
