Shillong: The Meghalaya government has announced that it will invite the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) for a discussion on the proposal to relocate 342 families from the Harijan Colony in Them Iew Mawlong to the existing land of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB).
According to a report by The Meghalayan, this decision was made after the HPC submitted a reply to the government’s blueprint, calling it “incomplete, unsuitable, unprepared, unfair and undemocratic.”
The deputy chief minister in charge of Urban Affairs, Sniawbhalang Dhar, has informed the press that the government will likely hold a meeting with the HPC next week.
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Dhar also said that the negotiations with the HPC are still ongoing, and the government is examining their demands to see if they are feasible.
The HPC has reiterated that their original demands still stand, and they will not buckle under political pressure.
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The state government had presented a blueprint to the HPC last year indicating its decision to construct multi-storey flats at the existing official quarters of the SMB for the relocation of the 342 families.
However, the HPC had rejected this proposal and suggested that 200 square meters of land be provided to each of the 342 families within the European ward, with the cost of construction of their homes to be borne by the government.