Nongstoin district jail: 13 years in the making
SHILLONG: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly has taken exception to the fact that thirteen years after the Nongstoin district jail was sanctioned the project is yet to see the light of the day.
Taking strong note of the inexplicable delay, the PAC on Tuesday summoned State government officials to explain the delay in completion of the project.
PAC Chairman Paul Lyngdoh said the project was sanctioned in 2003 but after 2009, no work has taken place in the project due to communication gap between the line departments.
Stating that 70 per cent of the work has been completed, Lyngdoh pointed out that the existing infrastructure has deteriorated and the project site has become a den for anti social elements.
“If this remains the condition, then this project would be a waste,” he said.
The PAC was also surprised by the fact that PWD (Building) had not replied to a letter of the Prisons department about the revised estimates and funds for the last one and half years.
The PAC directed the State chief secretary to hold periodical meetings and to press for mobilization of resources for early completion of the project.
According to Lyngdoh, transfer of UTPs from Nongstoin to Shillong costs the State government around Rs 4 lakhs every month and the government would save a lot of money if the project comes up at the earliest.
“The present situation is a result of complete lack of seriousness on the part of the government,” he said.
As per the original deadline the construction, which started in 2005, was scheduled to be completed in five years.
It may be mentioned that the government had sanctioned Rs 6.25 crores on December 20, 2003 for construction of the Nongstoin district jail on a plot of land measuring 10.35 acres.