Shillong, May 9: The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) has threatened to gather all landless Khasi people to take over government properties if the state government gives in to the demands of the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC).
“We have made it very clear that if the government agrees to the HPC’s demands, we are ready with lots of agitations. Apart from that we will also gather all landless Khasi people to occupy all government properties and we will demand to give free houses to them,” HYC president Robert June Kharjahrin ( in picture) told reporters.
The HPC wanted the government to provide 200 square meters of land to each of the 342 families in its revenue land in exchange for Them Iew Mawlong, where they are presently residing, besides construction of their homes free of cost.
The HYC submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong to stop giving land to Harijan Colony residents
“If they can give 200 square meters to Harijans, we will get at least 2,000 square meters of land. We have indigenous farmers who do not have lands and we also have indigenous people who do not have a place to stay,” he said.
He said Harijans were never part of the hill state agitations and added: “Meghalaya came into being because of our ancestors’ blood and sweat so who are they (HPC) to dictate the government.”
Kharjahrin said, “ If people who are illegal residents on a public property asked for land from the government then first of all repeal the eviction of illegal settlers from public properties.”
