In compliance with the Meghalaya High Court order passed on September 5, the State government has outlined the steps to temporarily manage the Krangsuri tourist site in West Jaintia Hills.
A meeting chaired by the Deputy Commissioner, West Jaintia Hills to discuss the operational plan for the tourist facilities at Krangsuri, has decided to implement a temporary Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) to ensure smooth operation of the tourist spot during the interim period, until the disputes between the four clans are resolved.
As per the SOP, the overall supervision and management of Krangsuri shall be done by the District Tourism Promotion Society (DTPS) of which the nodal officer is the District Tourism Officer.
It also said that information boards shall be displayed at the entry points mentioning all the charges and rules. The phone numbers of the Office in Charge of Amlarem police station shall also be displayed in case any tourist is stopped by anyone. “Sign boards put up by protestors saying Krangsuri is closed has to be removed,” it said.
Police personnel shall be deployed at both the entry points of Krangsuri so that nobody interferes or stops tourists from entering the tourist spot. This police deployment will continue till the land dispute has been resolved after which a review will be done regarding the necessity of police personnel.
Further, a separate bank account for Krangsuri will be opened by the DTPS and all fees and charges collected shall be via UPI preferably linked with the bank account of the DTPS. Cash payment shall be accepted only when online payments like UPI are not working/available in case of network issue etc.
The SOP also mentioned the rates of entry, boating, life jacket, parking, toilet, professional photography. All the workers at the tourist spot will be paid wages out of the fees collected.
The rent from the tea stalls and shops located in the premises of Krangsuri will also be paid into the account of DTPS monthly.
The SOP also stated that a record register shall be made available at the counter itself where all details of tourists like name, facility utilised and charges paid including entry fees and other charges like for lifejacket, parking, boating etc shall be entered into.
Quarterly audit of all funds collected and expenses shall be done by the DTPS.
The SOP and rates cover the disputed area under Raid Buam (from Ladjaplem side). “The other entrance from Muktapur Road is owned by a private party and is not part of the dispute. Hence, any parking charges and other rent may be collected by the concerned owner as previously done,” it said.
It also said that the protesters or squatters present in the site of the Krangsuri falls are an impediment to the footfall of the tourist visiting the site and appropriate order will be issued to remove them.
The SOP will remain in operation until the matter is adjudicated finally by the Executive Committee of the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC), which will hear and decide on the claims and counter claims made by the petitioner and the four clans.
