From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Shillong township, which is bursting at the seams, will now get a much needed relief, with the Centre agreeing to assist in the development of the new township at an estimated cost of over one thousand crore rupees.
The Centre has given the go ahead for construction of an expressway which will connect the new township with the existing one at a cost of Rs 206 crore, Ampareen Lyngdoh, State Minister for Urban Affairs said on Wednesday after getting the requisite nod from Kamal Nath, Union Minister for Urban Development.
“Rapid growth of the capital city of Shillong over the last few decades has not only strained the existing infrastructure of the city but also resulted in undesirable trend of development,” Ampareen told Nath during their meeting in New Delhi.
In order to relieve the congestion and to ensure planned development, an extension of the city in the form of a new township has been initiated, she added.
The New Shillong Township project was conceived to accommodate the future population of Shillong as projected in the Shillong Master Plan and the State had earmarked 500 hectares of land to be acquired in Phase-I – for uses like administrative, commercial, community facilities, institutional, general housing and basic infrastructure, Ampareen said.
The State Government has till date been able to acquire about 370 hectares of land out of the meager resources available with it and is in need of fund for land acquisition and development of urban infrastructure of the new township, she said.
Meanwhile, land has also been allotted to a number of premier institutions like the Indian Institute of Management, Institute of Hotel Management, English and Foreign Language University and National Institute of Fashion Technology etc., which will give an impetus to development in the new township, Ampareen said.
As per the DPRs drawn up by the State Government, the total estimated cost for development of infrastructure in the township is Rs 1028.30 crore of which the Phase-I requirement covering five years is Rs 540.30 crore. However, for the New Township there is an urgent need for investment in the infrastructure development like water supply, roads, sewerage, drainage and power, she said.
Mentioning that additional support from the Ministry in the form of a grant will go a long way in the development of the New Shillong Township, Ampareen urged The Union Minister to extend financial assistance in the form of special grant from the Ministry of Urban Development.
Commenting that the State was facing severe constraints with regards to implementation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (JNNURM) in Greater Shillong Township Ampareen urged Kamal Nath to intervene to ease the situation.
She also informed the Union Minister that all previous differences between the Department of Urban Affairs and the Public Health Engineering (PHE), with regards to the Shillong Township project have been amicably resolved.