Shillong: The Meghalaya High Court on Monday directed the state government to take immediate action and expeditiously close the matter of relocation of residents of the disputed Punjabi Lane area here.
A high court bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee heard the matter.
“It is hoped that the government takes immediate appropriate action and brings the matter to a close as expeditiously as possible,” the court order said.
The bench, however, hit out at the residents for giving a false impression that they accepted the blueprint prepared by the Meghalaya government on the matter last month.
“It appears that the respondents are playing fast and loose both with the government and with the court,” the bench said.
It also ordered the state government to report about the progress of action by July 18.
The residents had in the first week of June told the high court that they accepted the blueprint prepared by the Meghalaya government in principle to relocate at least 342 families to another location.
