Shillong, Jun 18: Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma said the state government will decide on the issue related to shifting of settlers from Them Ïew Mawlong based on a report of the High Level Committee (HLC).

“Let us wait for the report to come in and we will take a call,” Sangma told reporters on the sidelines of a function held here on Tuesday.

On the recent demand of the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) for permanent land papers, the chief minister however said, they are welcomed to give their letters and it is duty of the HLC to listen to all stakeholders.

“There are many letters, claims and requests coming in and as a government, it is our duty to listen to everybody and give them time to express their concerns and point of view. But the HLC will ultimately take all these inputs, requests, and aspects and go into the inventorisation, actual facts of the matter and then submit a report,” he said.

The chief minister also informed that he had also told the delegation that met him recently in Delhi that the inventorisation is going on and once the HLC submit its report, the government will be in a position to tell how things will move forward.

“We are here to give opportunity to everybody and we cannot say no to anybody as everybody has the right to approach the HLC and give their side of the story, submit their documents and then the HLC will decide. So let them submit let them put their papers and HLC will be happy to meet them and examine and decision will be taken,” he further stated.

On May 31, the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) based on the direction of the HLC had issued notices to over 300 households urging them to submit documents to prove that they are genuine settlers of the area. The Board gave them one month to submit their documents between June 3 and July 3.

However, the Harijan Panchayat Committee termed the notices issued by the SMB as illegal, and the committee has filed a contempt case against the Board.

Whether more time is required by the HLC to submit its report, the chief minister said, “this kind of effort has not been made in the past, as none of the governments took up this issue as seriously as we are, and there is a reason for it as this issue is complicated. Therefore, the HLC should not be pushed right now. The documentation, paper works should be done meticulously so that there are no issues or no challenges in whatever steps we take. It should be done in a speedy manner but not in a manner that is hasty.”

On providing security to the settlers, the chief minister assured the delegation that even when the incident happened last year and things were very complicated, the government did everything possible to ensure every citizen is protected.

“Protecting the citizens is the primary responsibility of the government and that will be doing irrespective of who they are or which community they belong to. So security should not be mixed up with the overall issue. They are satisfied with the steps being taken by the government,” he said.