Shillong, Mar 4 (PTI) The Centre has asked the Meghalaya government to surrender the Rs 200 crore it sanctioned about eight years ago as land acquisition money to bring railhead to the state capital Shillong, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said in the Assembly on Tuesday.
The allocated central fund was not utilised by the state.
“We have received a letter from the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) on December 17, 2024, asking us to return the fund since it was not utilised for the past 7-8 years. No land has been acquired as there is very strong resistance against the railway project,” Sangma said.
Since it is a sensitive matter, the government did not go ahead with the land acquisition, he said.
The chief minister also assured the House that the government would onboard all stakeholders before deciding to implement such important projects in the state.
“I have also met the minister concerned on multiple occasions and in the last meeting, I had hinted to the minister that we are not able to move ahead with the project due to strong resistance against laying of railway tracks,” the CM said.
He, however, asserted that presence of railway communication is important for transportation of goods and development of economy.
Opposition Voice of the People Party MLA Adelbert Nongrum expressed apprehension that there could be a “secret” negotiation that led to the Centre sanctioning over Rs 200 crore to the state, an allegation rejected by the chief minister.
Earlier, deputy chief minister in charge of transport department Sniawbhalang Dhar informed the House that Rs 200 crore was sanctioned by the Centre on March 30, 2017.
“However, it could not be utilized due to opposition by local people and due to unavailability of land. And that we have not received any No-objection certificate from the Autonomous District Council,” he stated while citing the reason for the project to remain standstill till date.
Efforts to introduce railways to the state capital were met with strong opposition from interested groups, citing threats of influx of outsiders into the state in the absence of a proper mechanism to check the influx. PTI JOP NN
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