Residents of Them ïew Mawlong or Punjabi Lane in Meghalaya were served with an additional 30-day period to submit documents proving that they are legal settlers in the area.
The Shillong Municipal Board (SMB), on May 31, based on the direction of the High Level Committee (HLC) carried out the second inventory survey and issued notices to over 300 households of the area, urging them to submit documents to prove that they are genuine settlers and accordingly the residents were given one month time to submit their documents between June 3 and July 3.
However, no one came forward to submit their documents until July 3.
On Thursday, the HLC in its meeting chaired by deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong discussed the issue and decided to extend the time by another 30 days.
It may be mentioned here that the 30-day period will be counted from the day Shillong Municipal Board restarts issuing fresh notices to the residents.
It was also made clear that notices would be also served to the residents and their legal counsel, besides chairman of the Harijan Panchayat Committee.
"The direction of the Meghalaya High Court was very clear that the Punjabi Lane residents should cooperate with the inventory survey being carried out by the Shillong Municipal Board in the area. Whether they would come forward or not it is up to them to decide," Tynsong said when asked if settlers refuse to respond to the notices.
