Shillong,Dec 14: Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong has flayed Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) led by Simranjit Singh Mann for suggesting the need to deploy army at Them Iew Mawlong, where the people of Harijan Colony are residing.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Tynsong said, “Deployment of army for what, there is no war. Is there any battle field here that we need to deploy army.”
Tynsong, who headed the High Level Committee (HLC), said that it is the responsibility of the state government to take care of each and every citizen irrespective of tribal or non-tribal.
As far as Iew Mawlong is concerned, the area is worse than a slum, he said.
Tynsong said the state government feels that taking into consideration the human lives and health of the people staying in Harijan Colony, they need to be shifted and relocated to a proper place.
ILP issue
Tynsong said the state government will continue to pursue with the Centre for immediate implementation of lLP in Meghalaya.
Tynsong said that the state government is not satisfied with the response of the Centre on the issue.
The ILP resolution unanimously passed by the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly in 2019 is still lying pending for the approval of the centre.
“We are not satisfied and that is why we keep on pursuing this issue. We are still pursuing and we are still going to do that till we get a very clear signal ‘yes’ or ‘no’ from the centre,” Tynsong said.
The deputy chief minister said the two NPP Members of Parliament – Agatha Sangma (Lok Sabha) and WR Kharlukhi (Rajya Sabha) – are tryiing their best to take up this issue in any platform not necessarily only in Parliament.
12 PWD projects
Tynsong on said 12 projects funded by the World Bank at Rs 554 crore are targeted to be completed by December 2022.
Of the ten projects , five each are in Garo Hills and Khasi Hills with a total length of 262.4 kms and two are bridges.
The projects were sanctioned at Rs 554.67 crore under the Meghalaya Integrated Transport Project (MITP) by the World Bank in 2020.
He also said that the Centre has set a target for the state government to complete 1,250 km of road under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) during this current financial year.
