Shillong, Sep 22: A resident of Laitumkhrah has flagged illegal constructions inside the Shillong Municipal Board colony in Goralane, Laitumkhrah .
According to Wankitbok Pohshna, early this year he had filed an RTI after learning of illegal construction inside the colony by residents.
Pohshna informed that the RTI revealed that Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) had never given any permission for construction of the structures and asked the Shillong Municipal Board to dismantle them.
“However till date no action was taken on the ground while the constructions continued defying all relevant building bye-laws, Pohshna alleged.
He said that this has angered many residents of Laitumkhrah who has to apply for building permission from MUDA when it comes to home construction while it is just the opposite for the government compound in their vicinity.
Pohshna also said that some residents even raised the issue that notices is being served by MUDA for deviation from sanctioned plan during constructions however the situation seems favorable for those dwelling in the illegal units under government land at Goralane.
He also said that the residents surrounding this colony have been trying to knock the door of the authorities on the unabated unauthorised building constructions that has been going on.
A petition was also sent to the then Minister Urban Affairs in 2011 who is also the local MLA (Ampareen Lyngdoh) on the unchecked slum that was mushrooming in the heart of the city, however no concrete step was taken to address the issue during the period when the incumbent MLA held the Urban Affairs portfolio.
He alleged that after a decade, now apart from unauthorised constructions there is likelihood of electricity theft as the units have been erected without permission granted by the authorities.
Pohshna also said that the colony which is situated by the side of the Thangsniang stream which is a tributary of wah Umkhrah there is rampant dumping of garbage from the colony which goes unchecked since there is no netting erected to prevent such dumping.
Recently the group ‘I am the change’ campaign had given a representation to the Deputy Commissioner of East Khasi Hills to address the issue of dumping of garbage at the Goralane bridge.
