Shillong, Jan 30: The Meghalaya cabinet has decided to hand over the responsibility to the three autonomous district councils to implement building byelaws in schedule areas while Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) will implement only in areas inside municipal.

But the district councils will have to implement the same building byelaws being implemented by the state government through MUDA.

The MUDA will continue to implement building byelaws in areas within the jurisdiction of municipal.

Speaking to reporters after the cabinet meeting, deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong said that the state government has its building byelaws since 1973 which were amended from time to time, and with this cabinet decision, the building byelaws in sixth schedule areas would from now on be implemented by the district councils not by MUDA.

Tynsong said that the decision to hand over power to the district councils to implement the building byelaws in schedule areas was based on the demand from various quarters including a conglomerate of headmen, social organizations and residents.

He said that the state government would soon issue a notification in this regard.

A number of protests have been organized in the by a conglomerate of headmen and organizations opposing the building byelaws being implemented by the state government through MUDA due to exorbitant fee being charged when residents apply for building permission, and the residents have to undergo various processes even for occupying their newly built house, as well as for getting water and electricity connection.

The headmen and residents wanted the district councils to come up with their own building byelaws and not the MUDA building byelaws of the state government.

When asked, Tynsong however said that there would be no difference between the building byelaws of the state government and that of the district councils, because the district councils also have to implement the same building byelaws of the government.

According to Tynsong, the only difference is that, the district councils will implement the building byelaws in schedule areas, while the government will implement through MUDA only in municipal areas.

“Only one model or standard building byelaws will be implemented by all the three district councils,” Tynsong informed, while stating that infact, the Khasi Hill Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and the Jaiñtia Hill Autonomous District Council (JHADC) have submitted their proposed building byelaws to the government.

To a question, how the district council which did not have enough staff including technical people would be able to implement the building byelaws, Tynsong said that the district councils have assured that they would set up their own technical wing to implement the building byelaws of the government.