The Meghalaya government will hold a meeting this week to discuss the representation received from the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC). In response to the proposed relocation of 342 families from the Them Iew Mawlong region, also referred to as Harijan Colony, the committee has requested further time to respond. Additionally, Prestone Tynsong, the deputy chief minister of Meghalaya, announced on Tuesday that a meeting would be arranged to determine the next steps for this proposal.
He told reporters, “We will meet this week to discuss the matter and then make a decision.” The Harijan Panchayat Committee was given a strict deadline of 15 days by the Meghalaya government to react to the relocation plan. Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong acknowledged that the government had previously agreed not to grant additional time when asked if the deadline could be extended, but he added that HPC has requested a second meeting. “We did agree that no further extensions would be given, but now that they have requested a meeting, we must take a decision as the department, internally,” he stated.
The HPC formally requested an extension of time on Monday, citing insufficiency of the previously granted 15-day timeframe for responding to the government’s relocation offer. As a result, the committee has called for consultations with the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, and the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee at Amritsar.
The Sikh religious leaders would not be able to meet for the next two to three weeks, Singh stated, “but these consultations are very important due to prior commitments and ongoing engagements.” Instead, on August 31, 2022, the state government unveiled a plan to build housing flats on 2.5 acres of Shillong Municipal Board property in order to accommodate the displaced households.
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