Meghalaya: Harijan Panchayat Committee accepts government's blueprint for relocation of Sweepers’ Colony

With suggestions to modify certain areas, the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) has accepted the relocation proposal blueprint prepared by the State government. 

The Blueprint proposed relocating the 342 Harijan families from Ïewduh Them Mawlong to Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) at Bishop Cotton Road. 

“Learned Advocate-General reports that Counsel for the Harijan Panchayat Committee has agreed, in principle, to the blueprint prepared by the government but has made some suggestions for modification in certain areas”, said the division bench comprising of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W Diengdoh in an order after the hearing on Wednesday. 

The Bench further stated that “since the State is looking at the suggestions for modification, let the matter come up three weeks hence. It is hoped that the parties will now resolve the long pending issue and give a quietus to these matters,” the bench stated.

The Meghalaya High Court has scheduled the next hearing on July 3. 

The government had come up with a blueprint after rejecting the April 25,2022-proposal of the HPC that 200 square meters of land be provided to each of the 342 families within the European ward besides bearing the cost of construction of their homes.

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On August 31, 2022, the state government announced its decision to construct housing flats on the 2.5 acres of land belonging to the SMB to relocate the 342 families.

"Now we will demolish the old units and accordingly construct a flat system of 5 or 7 stories as per Meghalaya Development Urban Authority (MUDA) byelaws,” Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong had then informed.

Notably, the HPC had rejected the blueprint of the government.

In its recent 6-page reply sent to the Deputy Secretary of the Government of Meghalaya and other concerned departments, the HPC had alleged that the proposal of the government was “incomplete, unsuitable, unprepared, unfair and undemocratic.” The HPC had also stated in its reply that “There are serious lacunae, sweeping and undesirable conclusions in the approach and attitude of the High-Level Committee of the Meghalaya government.”