In no country of the world including our own are malls constructed within a kilometer of the State Secretariat. Malls and vehicle showrooms are usually constructed out of city limits to provide breathing space to the city. Shillong needs a green lung space and bureaucrats of earlier regimes were known to have supported this idea of turning the old PWD complex at Barik into that green space. But in Meghalaya ideas take decades to take concrete shape; even ideas that are meant to serve a public cause. One lakh square feet is equivalent to over two acres of prime property in the heart of a city. The public need pure air to breathe in and not another concrete structure.
But the decision on what is good for Shillong or for Meghalaya cannot rest on the Government alone. Citizens too have a right to express their concerns and to give ideas that are in their larger interests. After all the government is only a custodian of the public purse. The reasons behind the Government’s decision to build a mall are not convincing and do not seem to have emerged out of any consensus within the Government. The Urban Affairs Department which had earlier called for expression of interests from the best architectural firms in the country for the heritage project certainly did not envisage a mall in Barik. So how did the decision change overnight? At whose coercion? And who will finally be the contractor for the mall. Ultimately it all boils down to that single motive. It would, in fact, be interesting to know who the power behind the MDA throne is that actually calls all the shots. These are shrewd politician-businessmen whose focus is more on business than politics.
There is plenty of space in the New Shillong Township and beyond if a mall is a priority for this Government. The idea of malls came up when people began to acquire vehicles and could drive out of the city into less congested spaces. Secondly the idea is to accommodate all shops under one roof to avoid the inclement weather outside. Malls include recreational spaces such as movie theatres and play spaces for children. People don’t just visit a mall for shopping. Many make it a rendezvous over coffee or a meal. It’s a shopping experience for some and a window shopping experience for others. Malls
Malls need a steady flow of customers to increase profit. Building shopping centres with large parking spaces is the reason why malls were envisaged. No one enjoys a shopping experience in a crowded and congested city centre. Whether these factors have been weighed in or whether the idea is to benefit one or two contractors is the point of debate. Indeed there is need for a vociferous public debate on this and other issues.