Sweepers’ Colony issue: Meghalaya Govt to invite HPC for talks

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Oct 26: Deputy Chief Minister in-charge of Home (Police) Prestone Tynsong today informed that the State government will invite the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) next month for discussion on resolving the issue pertaining to the relocation of 342 families of Sweepers’ Colony from Them Iew Mawlong.

“We will have one more meeting with them (HPC). Unfortunately, Puja just came in so hopefully by next month we will be able to call them and sit once and for all and we will submit an affidavit to the court,” Tynsong told reporters.

On September 29, the Meghalaya government had informed the High Court that it has agreed to increase the individual plot sizes as requested by the residents of the Sweepers’ Colony.

With regards to the dilapidated condition of the roads, Tynsong, who is also in charge of PWD (Roads) said, “I have already instructed right from the commissioner & secretary, secretary and the chief engineers of the PWD to now since the dry and working season start be it any to make sure that the repairing and maintenance of road start at the earliest possible.”

On Byrnihat being categorized as the most polluted area in Meghalaya, the deputy chief minister said that he has asked the chief secretary to take up this matter with the Assam counterpart.

“In as far as Byrnihat is concerned, the left side while going to Guwahati is Meghalaya and the right side is Assam. I think you must have seen quite a number of factories all along the right side whereas from our left side we have only a designated industrial estate and we do also have factories but it is well monitored by the MSPCB. As far as Assam is concerned, I have asked the CS to take up this matter with the counterpart Assam to find out ways and means on how to monitor because we can’t go and monitor those factories in Assam which were functioning till now,” he said.