Over 134 teer counters operating illegally

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Sept 20: Over 134 teer counters in the State were found operating without a license.

Of these, 120 teer counters are in East Khasi Hills, 3 West Jaintia Hills, 4 East Jaintia Hills and 7 Ri Bhoi District, Minister-in-charge of Taxation AT Mondal informed in a reply to a starred question tabled in the Assembly today.

He said instructions were issued to the concerned Superintendent of Taxes on May 27, 2019 and reiterated on January 19, 2021, directing the officers to strictly enforce the direction of the High Court with respect to stopping the operation of illegal teer counters and the applicability of GST thereof.

Mondal however said that most teer counters operate from makeshift establishments and were not in possession of proper occupancy documents to establish legal and authorized occupation of the premises.

Them Iew Mawlong: HPC waiting for govt’s call

The Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) has said that they are waiting for the state government to call for a meeting to discuss the issue related to the relocation of the Sweepers’ Colony from Them Iew Mawlong.

“We are waiting for the government’s call,” HPC secretary Gurjit Singh said.

He however refused to indicate if the committee would submit its reply on the government’s proposal.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong informed that the government would soon fix a meeting with the HPC to further sensitize them on the stand of the government and to also listen to their point of view on the matter.

“We are waiting for the return of the Deputy Chief Minister in-charge urban affairs as we want to convene a meeting with the HPC within this month,” he added.

Tynsong said that he is not aware if the HPC has sent any communication to urban affairs with regards to the reply to the government’s proposal.

On March 16, the state government set a deadline to the HPC for submitting its reply by April 10, with regards to the proposal for relocating of the Sweepers’ Colony from Them Iew Mawlong to the existing land of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB).

The government had also turned down the request of the HPC to give another three months’ time to respond to the proposal.

The decision was also taken following an order of the Meghalaya High Court on February 16, asking the state government to immediately resolve the issue after the Assembly elections.

On September 29, last year the state government presented the blueprint to the HPC during a meeting, which indicated its decision to construct multi-storey flats at the existing official quarters of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) for relocation of the 342 families.

The state government had outrightly rejected 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.