Shillong, Nov 6: In a sharp political counter to Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh, KHADC Opposition Leader and UDP general secretary Titosstarwell Chyne on Friday said if a leader can jump party, a project can also be shifted.
Chyne was reacting to Lyngdoh’s assertion that the Shillong ropeway project cannot be shifted despite stiff opposition in Laban and other localities.
Lyngdoh, who recently joined the NPP from the UDP, is pushing the project as Tourism Minister.
“If there is a way to build another project to connect Mawsynram and Sohra, if it is possible to jump party from one to another, then shifting a project should also be possible,” Chyne said.
“They are allowed to be shifted. Sometimes projects that do not get a place are shifted elsewhere. There are roads that are opposed, they are shifted elsewhere,” he added.
Chyne revived the forgotten 2015-16 proposal to connect Mawsynram with Sohra by ropeway, saying it had figured in budget provisions under the Dr Mukul Sangma government before disappearing.
He said he wants development that opens opportunities and improves the economy, but not at the cost of the environment and people’s lives.
On Laban, he declined to take a final stand, leaving it to the wisdom of residents, Rangbah Shnong and mothers, as he had not yet studied the project’s pros and cons.
On KHADC sealing a property linked to the ropeway, he said the Council must uphold its decision if it is based on principle. The matter now lies with the Executive Committee.
On the trading licence issue, he said any non-tribal company working in Sixth Schedule areas must obtain a licence under the Trading by Non-Tribals Regulation Act.
“If the sealed office is a government office on government land, the Council is wrong. If it is a company office without a licence, the Council must explain why it locked it,” he said.
