The Meghalaya High Court today rapped the Harijan Panchayat Committee for “playing fast and loose both with the government and with the court” on the matter of relocation of residents of the disputed Sweepers Colony at Them Ïew Mawlong here.
The High Court also directed the State government to take immediate action and expeditiously close the matter of relocation of the residents of the colony.
The order was issued by the division bench of the High Court headed by Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee after hearing the matter.
“It appears that the respondents are playing fast and loose both with the government and with the court,” the court said.
The court also hit out at the Harijan Panchayat Committee for giving a false impression that it accepted the blueprint prepared by the Meghalaya government on the matter last month.
“A false impression was given on the last occasion that a minor matter had to be attended to but a subsequent statement was made that the court had misinterpreted the submission,” the High Court said.
“It is hoped that the government takes immediate appropriate action and brings the matter to a close as expeditiously as possible,” the High Court said.
It also ordered the State government to report about the progress of action by July 18.
The Harijan Panchayat Committee had in the first week of June told the High Court that they accepted the blueprint prepared by the Meghalaya government “in principle” to relocate at least 342 families to another location albeit with some suggestions and modifications in certain areas.
The Urban Affairs Department, in its blueprint, proposed the construction of 30-40 flats in 12 blocks on an alternate 2.5-acre plot of land at the Shillong Municipal Board’s complex at Bivar Road here.
