SHILLONG: As another year passes by, with it, a host of development projects get carried over to the next year. These much needed initiatives now have to wait for months or even a year or more to see the light of the day.
To name some of them, the Umroi airport, which is the only functional airport in the State, is still surrounded by controversies over compensation to be paid for the land acquired for the airport even as a lone flight operates from it to Kolkata. Even the runway expansion project is yet to materialize despite the fact that land for the same was made available over two years ago.
The Baljek airport at Tura too remains a non starter even though the land acquisition process for the project was completed recently.
The Umiam-Jorabat four lane project which kicked off in the year 2010 is yet to take shape although the construction of the road has picked up pace in the last few months. The deadline for the completion of the project was March, 2013.
The Shillong-Nongstoin Road is still in the construction stage and work has been hampered due to unavailability of land for the project. Certain stretches of the project, meanwhile, has been completed.
The expansion of road from Jowai to Malidor has not been initiated though initial work for the project has taken off.
The abattoir at Mawlai Mawiong is yet to be completed even though there has been 70 per cent progress in the project. According to the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister, Deborah Marak, the slaughter house is expected to be functional before March, 2014.
The much awaited Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) project for Shillong and Tura is still far from being materialized and there is uncertainty over how much time the proposed project might take.
The proposed New Shillong Township is another project that hangs in balance due to opposition from pressure groups even as land for the same has been allotted to various institutions and departments.
The housing colony at Nongmensong is yet to be completed though certain units are already accommodating a few families.
The construction of the proposed Shillong Medical College and Hospital has not kicked off as the Government at the moment is shifting the Reid Chest Hospital to Umsawli to pave way for the Shillong Medical College at Jhalupara.
Last but not the least at the end of 2013, the State still continues to look for that elusive permanent Legislative Assembly building as proceedings are carried on at the temporary building in Rilbong.
However, the year 2013 did result in the fulfillment of the long cherished Shillong Bypass as the road was finally completed and opened for traffic after a long wait of over two decades.
The State of the Art convention Centre in the heart of the city was also opened for staging various programmes.
