Congress MDC slams PN Syiem over railway project

FROM A REPORTER
SHILLONG, June 20: Congress MDC from Mawlai constituency PT Sawkmie during the budget session of the KHADC on Tuesday alleged that the Executive Committee (EC) led by CEM P N Syiem has taken a soft corner approach concerning the ongoing railway project at Ri-Bhoi district. There was also a demand from a couple of MDCs to write to the state government to immediately put a stop to the ongoing railway project in the state and to halt the hunt for Khasi Students Union (KSU) leaders and members. Questioning the EC led by Syiem on the issue of Railway project in the state during the question hour, Sawkmei said, “For other cases the EC has act accordingly and for some cases had approached the High Court or the Supreme Court but has remain silent on this very sensitive issue.”
 “May be this soft corner approach is owing to the fact that the EC has a link with the BJP government,” Sawkmie alleged.
He also demanded that a letter from the council to the railway ministry. In clarification the CEM PN Syiem said that the EC in-charge had earlier conducted a spot inspection at the construction site and given his verbal instruction to halt the construction work when the railway party had wanted to restart their construction work again before all the archy took place.  “We have also endorsed this matter to our legal consultant so that we will be able to have a better picture of this situation and know how to proceed on this matter, “Syiem said adding that this railway project is an old project before the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement act, 2013 came into being and the rule of the council was very limited before this and became clear only after this act came into force.