By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The Government will move a resolution in the Assembly on Wednesday to empower the High Powered Committee (HPC) to select a suitable site for the construction of the new Assembly.
The High Powered Committee which met on Tuesday decided to bring a resolution in the House so that the site selection can be carried out by the HPC, Assembly Speaker AT Mondal said on Tuesday.
He said that it is upto the House to deliberate on the matter and to empower the Committee to take a decision on the issue.
The HPC was formed to select a new place since a PIL is pending against the construction of the new Assembly building at Tara Ghar, a site selected by the previous HPC.
According to sources, some members of the Committee suggested the need to find out a suitable site at Mawdiangdiang.
However, there was a resolution adopted by the House in the past not to shift the site to Mawdiangdiang for the construction of the Assembly.
It was in 2004 that there was a move on the part of the then Chief Minister DD Lapang to construct the Assembly in Mawdiangdiang on the outskirts of Shillong, a large stretch of area selected for the new Shillong Township project.
A resolution in the Assembly was taken up and passed against the move to shift the Assembly to Mawdiangdiang supported by both the ruling and the Opposition members.
A member of the HPC who attended Tuesday’s meeting said that with the changed situation, many will prefer Mawdiangdiang and hence a new resolution needs to be adopted by the House.
Moreover, Tara Ghar has only six acres whereas there is a vast area in Mawdiangdiang which would be suitable for the construction of the new Assembly, the member added.