Revenue Minister Lahkmen Rymbui has decided to call convene a meeting in the second week of December to determine the course of action for evicting unauthorized occupants from the Maxweltn Estate and Mahadev Khola. He announced this after a meeting held with the delegation of the Khasi Students Union (KSU) on Thursday. “I have to call a meeting of the revenue department and the deputy commissioner (revenue) to understand the full fact (of the matter). When there is a judgment in favour of the government that this land (at Maxwelton Estate) belongs to the government then why not the government takes position of it and how to evict these so-called these illegal settlers,” Rymbui told reporters.
“This issue will be discussed at length and necessary action will be done and why inaction is there, we have to inform the people accordingly,” he added. Asked, Rymbui said that the KSU delegation had informed him that the case between the government and one of the land occupants has been settled, with the government required to pay compensation to the claimant.
“Having said that, Maxwellton is not only the claimant, there are also some settlers there. So now the issue of eviction, how to go about it and what it is there (all this will be discussed in the meeting),” Rymbui said. Regarding Mahadev Khola issue, the minister said, “I do not know much about that land there. So, issue of that also will be included in the meeting which will be held sometimes in the second week of December to understand the legality of the land and occupants of the land and the way forward.”