HYC detects over 100 houses of illegal settlers on Shillong Cantonment Board land

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaApril 25, 2024

Over 100 houses have been illegally set up on a plot of land belonging to the Shillong Cantonment Board near Motphran area.

This came to light after a surprise checking conducted by the Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters, HYC president Roykupar Synrem said that the checking was taken up after receiving several complaints about the increasing drug trafficking and the presence of illegal settlers including Rohingya refugees on a plot of land belonging to the Shillong Cantonment Board near the Fire Service at Motphran.

“During our inspection, we were surprised to find that there are over 90-100 houses of illegal settlers in this small plot of land. We found that they are not even genuine residents of Meghalaya, as the majority of them do not have EPIC cards of Meghalaya as they have come from other states of the country,” he said.

“We also found that not less than 20-30 people are living in small rooms. They have turned this area into a slum area and it has become an eyesore to the people and passersby. This has become a colony of refugees and illegal immigrants in the city. We don’t want illegal activities and anti-social activities to come out from this area as many of these illegal settlers do not possess valid documents,” he added.

Synrem further informed, “On enquired, we found that they have not obtained any permission to settle here. We are surprised how the Shillong Cantonment Board is unaware of the presence of these illegal settlers on its land.”

He said that the HYC will soon meet the authority of the Shillong Cantonment Board to ensure that it immediately evicts these illegal settlers from this area.