A meeting between the State government and the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) is likely to be held on November 15 or 16 to resolve all issues related to the site at Bivar Road here where the residents of Sweepers’ Colony at Them Iew Mawlong will be relocated.
This was informed by Advocate General Amit Kumar during hearing of a writ appeal on the matter in the division bench of the Meghalaya High Court.
Kumar told the court that a proposal has come from the State government to call upon the HPC for a meeting so as to solve the dispute or any pending issues between the parties once and for all.
Kumar also informed the court that the proposed meeting is slated to be held either on November 15 or 16.
He however said that if the HPC is not convenient to attend the meeting on the proposed dates, it may propose some other dates to allow the parties to meet and to amicably settle such issues.
“This court at this stage would not proceed further but would allow the parties to meet as proposed,” the division bench of Justice Wanlura Diengdoh, and Justice B Bhattacharjee said.
The High Court also said that the outcome of the meeting should be informed and placed before the court in the form of a report. The next hearing on the matter will be held in the first week of December.
It may be mentioned that the contentious issue has dragged on in the Meghalaya High Court since 2018. The court had earlier observed that the matter of proposed relocation of the 342 families from Harijan colony at Them Ïew Mawlong has dragged on for “far too long”.
The State government has proposed to relocate the residents of Them Ïew Mawlong to the Shillong Municipal Board land at Bivar Road here.
The Urban Affairs Department had come up with a blueprint to accommodate all the 342 families in dwelling units that will be created in place of the existing SMB quarters.
The blueprint proposed the construction of 30-40 flats in 12 blocks on a 2.5-acre plot of land.
In October 2021, the State government took possession of the land measuring 12,444.13 square metres at Sweepers’ Colony after paying Rs 2 crore to the Hima Mylliem as a one-time payment.
This comes after signing of a tripartite lease deed between the government of Meghalaya, the Syiem of Hima Mylliem and Shillong Municipal Board on March 31, 2021.
The State government said that beautification of the area will be done once the residents of the colony are shifted to a new site.
