Shillong, Aug. 25: The Meghalaya government has included 10 census towns as well as two statutory towns - Shillong municipality and Shillong cantonment - under urban centres, to pave way for the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to implement the Meghalaya building bylaws, 2011, in areas falling under such centres.

The 10 census towns, which have been included under urban centres, include Nongthymmai, Mawlai, Mawpat, Nongmynsong, Pynthorumkhrah, Umlyngka, Lawsohtun, Nongkseh, Umpling and Madanrting.

The inclusion of the said towns under urban centres came through a new notification issued today by MUDA in partial modification of its earlier order dated January 5, as agreed during the meeting between the Meghalaya government and a group led by Opposition MLA Ardent M. Basaiawmoit on August 21.

The MUDA informed the people that the Meghalaya building bylaws, 2011 would be applicable in the said urban centres according to the census 2011, with immediate effect until further orders.

Tthe notification did not define an urban centre.

As the classification of areas as urban centres is still vague, the notification is likely to rake up a controversy, since many localities adjacent to the census towns, were not included under urban centres.

Moreover, there are also many localities under the census towns, which still have rural characteristics. Such localities still avail development schemes through the community and rural development department and not through the urban affairs department.

A statutory town is defined as a place with a municipality, corporation and cantonment board. A census town is defined based on the places that satisfy certain characteristics such as population exceeding 5,000, with a minimum population density of more than 400 per sq km, and at least 75 per cent of males employed outside agriculture sector.