Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Urban Affairs Sniawbhalang Dhar has stated that the acquisition of land for setting up new landfills in Shillong and other district headquarters is still pending due to ongoing negotiations over rates with landowners. “No public hearing has been held, so we are yet to negotiate about the rate, and we have formed a negotiation committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner or Director of Urban Affairs,” Dhar told reporters on Wednesday. “The rate, if it is win-win for both, we may go ahead, but if the rate is too high, that’s a different question altogether.”
Regarding the proposed landfill site in Nonghali, Dhar said, “The public hearing had gone smoothly, and the main part is the rate now. We cannot discuss the rate until and unless the hearing is completed. So, public hearing is completed, and now we are going to negotiate with the landowners, meaning the community of the Nonghali village.” Dhar also provided updates on land acquisition for landfills in other districts, stating, “In Jaintia Hills, we are yet to identify land, but in Williamnagar and Tura, it is already done, as few places have been acquired already, and some places are still in the process of identifying new locations.”
“We are trying to acquire land for setting up landfills in all towns across the state,” he added. In Jowai, Dhar said, “We have identified three-four places, but we are yet to finalize which one is feasible for the landfill. There were two-three places, but people were against it, so we quit that one, and we are moving to new places.