The process to identify a site for a new garbage dump for Jowai is still going on, Urban Affairs Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar said yesterday, as people living near the proposed sites need to come onboard with the project.
Jowai has been plagued with the problem of garbage as opposition by villagers to having a landfill near them stalls the solution.
The government is carrying out awareness programmes to try and reassure villagers that a new landfill would take a scientific approach to disposing of the waste and that it will not lead to water and air pollution.
Meanwhile, on the subject of the Smart City project for Shillong, the minister said that work is going well. Some Rs 140 crore has been budgeted for the project, which has been in the news of late after the opposition Trinamool Congress claimed that there are serious irregularities in its functioning, especially in terms of financial reporting.
However, work on smart roads in the smart city has not begun as other line departments are not yet ready, Dhar said.
The minister also spoke on the issue of resettlement of Harijan Colony residents at Them Ïewmawlong. Dhar stated that opposition by other localities to which the residents could be relocated is the main reason that the process is incomplete.
The government had been in favour of moving the residents to Reid Chest Hospital but the local MLA and Dorbar Shnong opposed this as the area is already congested.
