From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: At long last the new Meghalaya House in New Delhi with up-to-date facilities will be opened for the people of the State this year end, the new Minister for GAD, IT and Water Resources, AL Hek who visited the site here said on Wednesday.
Hek was accompanied by Home Minister HDR Lyngdoh, MPCC president Friday Lyngdoh and top officials during a final inspection of the project after which the trio told The Shillong Times that there would be no further delay in making the new House functional.
“All the civil works barring power supply are ready and only finishing touches have to be given to the big ticket project,” Hek said.
Built at a cost of nearly Rs 25 crore the three-storey house with a basement has as many as 20 rooms, two dormitories and three halls for conference, exhibition, and multipurpose use.
The building in one of the posh locations of the national capital, Vasant Vihar, will be handed over to Meghalaya Government in October after which the date for its inauguration will be finalised, Hek said.
The new house has two VVIP suits for Governor and Chief Minister and five VIP suits for ministers and top officials.
It was scheduled for completion in 2007 but due to unforeseen circumstances, it was delayed by three years.
Protest by the neighbouring Jharkahnd House against the digging for the basement of Meghalaya House further delayed
the project, but the differences were sorted out later with intervention of the respective state governments.
There was also one accident on the site in which labourers died and others were injured putting a spanner in the construction process, HDR Lyngdoh who was the then GAD Minister said.
Once it becomes functional services like room services, laundry, housekeeping and security will be outsourced.
During the inspection, Hek directed the contractors to take up the approach road on a priority basis. The new and much bigger house is expected to meet the growing needs of the people of the State for temporary accommodation in the national capital.
The number of people coming to New Delhi from Meghalaya especially, students, tourists, patients is increasing day by day, Hek said. It is not possible to accommodate most of them in the present house where the seats are limited, he said.
To accommodate more guests the present house could be used for the VIPs like ministers and officials while the new house would be provided to others.
Interestingly, unlike the new Meghalaya House in Kolkata, the New Delhi house has not attracted any major controversy.