Shillong Sikhs reject relocation plan
New Delhi, April 23
The Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC), a representative body of the Dalit Sikhs of Shillong, has rejected the state government’s blueprint for the relocation of residents of Punjabi Lane, calling it incomplete, unsuitable and undemocratic.
In a press release, the HPC said, “Ministers, MLAs and certain groups have been saying that the whole issue will be resolved this month. What magical trick do they have to resolve the issue within a few days? The matter is sub judice and they are only paying lip service. We will not buckle under political pressure.”
While the HPC has attended meetings with the government, the language of the political leadership was one of intimidation.”It is putting our lives and properties at risk,” HPC secretary Gurjit Singh said.
The plan is to force the residents give up their homes, rights, title and interest and accept “prison cell-like accommodation”, the press release stated.
“The government must stop the witch-hunt and allow us to build our houses and we can assure it that the beauty of the area will be maintained,” the press release said.
The HPC, representing 342 Dalit Sikh families living in Punjabi Lane, wanted plots in the European Ward in Shillong and Rs 20 lakh each for building houses on the land under the relocation plan.
The release added that the Punjabi Lane area belongs to the Syiem (local tribal chief). The ancestors of the residents of Punjabi Lane were given land in the last century by the then Syiem, it stated.
