In a renewed push to resolve one of Shillong’s most sensitive and long-pending urban issues, a Meghalaya BJP delegation led by senior legislator and Cabinet Minister Sanbor Shullai, along with state BJP president Rikman G. Momin, has taken up the matter of relocating 342 families in the Dalit Silks from Them Iew Mawlong with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi.
The issue, which has remained unresolved for years, carries significant social, administrative and political weight, particularly in the context of urban planning, community harmony and land management in the state capital.
During the meeting, Shullai, who represents the Shillong Cantonment Board area, apprised the Defence Minister of the sensitivity and larger implications of the proposed relocation, stressing the need for an early and amicable resolution in the interest of Meghalaya.
Highlighting the efforts already made by both the state and central stakeholders, Shullai said, “Relocation of Dalits or Sikhs from Them Iew Mawlong to Cantonment area defence land, where we have from Government side also they have taken up and I have also taken up with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, he has given patient hearing for giving NOC for the allotment of Defence land under Shillong Cantonment Board where the Sikh community, the Dalit community can be shifted. The State Government is looking forward to get around 3 acres of land.”
The delegation urged the Defence Ministry to expedite the process, underlining that a timely decision on the allotment of defence land could pave the way for a lasting and mutually acceptable solution to the long-standing Dalit Silks relocation issue.
