Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), Titosstarwell Chyne, today expressed dismay that certain areas in Sohra proper have been declared as census towns.
Chyne, who is the local MDC, said that he has written to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and the East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner to de-notify these areas as census towns.
According to Chyne, the areas under Sohra that have the unwelcome designation are Khlieh Shnong, Maraikaphon, Saitsohpen, Maw-ki-Syiem, Pdeng Shnong, Nongrim, Pomsohmen and Kutmadan.
Their census town labels are unwarranted, he said, because they are neither truly urban nor rural and will be deprived of development schemes that target rural areas.
According to Chyne, census towns should have a population of more than 5,000, with more than 75 percent of the residents engaged in livelihoods other than agriculture. He said that, in reality, these areas have fewer than the requisite number of people and “the fact is that many of the residents in these areas are still dependent on agriculture.”
