The Meghalaya Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) announced today that its board, at a meeting held on May 29, unanimously decided to cancel the proposed land acquisition in the Umsiang-Mawkdoh area of Ri-Bhoi.
This decision confirms what had already been announced in April. The MIDC had planned to buy up land in the area close to the Assam border for a proposed industrial estate. However, pressure groups had adamantly opposed the move, claiming that the public had not been consulted.
Today, the MIDC said that its decision to cancel the proposed purchase “follows a careful review of recent developments and public feedback.”
The state-owned corporation stated that its idea was to set up an industrial estate close to where Assam is creating an ‘Electronic City’, which would make the site promising in terms of environmentally sustainable green technology.
“The objective behind this initiative was to catalyse industrial growth in the region, generate employment for local communities and contribute meaningfully to the state’s long-term economic goals,” the MIDC said.
Accordingly, an expression of interest (EOI) was floated on March 7 and was duly published in leading English and Khasi newspapers. Six landowners responded to the notice, expressing interest. However, at no stage was any land acquisition completed, nor was any financial transaction undertaken. Allegations that Rs 100 crore was spent on this process “are entirely false”, with the MIDC stating that the actual sanctioned budget for the land acquisition was less than 5 percent of this amount.
Right to Information (RTI) inquiries and public representations followed, “many of which were based on misleading or inaccurate information”.
In light of these factors and after evaluating all dimensions the Board of Directors has concluded that it would not be appropriate to proceed with the project in its current form and it is in the best interest to cancel this land acquisition if the area cannot be used as an industrial estate.
