SHILLONG, May 25: Various organisations and political parties are going for his jugular after the collapse of the central dome of the under-construction Meghalaya Legislative Assembly building but PWD (Buildings) and Transport Minister, Dasakhiatbha Lamare on Wednesday said he will not step down.
“I will not quit as quitting is not a solution. Damages will occur when they are supposed to occur, regardless of who the minister is,” Lamare told reporters.
Stating that he does not believe in the principle of quitting, he said he is going to pull up his socks and work harder. He welcomed the idea of the setting up of a committee to monitor the progress of all projects in the state.
On the incident of the dome’s collapse, Lamare said he will write to the Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam Limited to send its representative to Shillong and appear before him, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh.
“At yesterday’s (Tuesday) meeting, I was told somebody was there from their side but I was not satisfied. I am going to write to them to send their active representative and we will discuss the matter,” he said.
Stating that the department will write to third parties like IIT-Guwahati, IIT-Kolkata and IIT-Delhi to go for immediate auditing of the building, the minister said as he understands it, the construction company will have to take care of the damage vis-à-vis financial losses.
Senior BJP leader, AL Hek asserted that the PWD (Buildings) has to fix responsibility on the supervisors of the department and the construction firm and book and punish them as per the law.
Hek, who inspected the Assembly building site on Wednesday, also questioned why the contractor of the project was allowed to sub-contract the work to another firm.
Dasakhiat for action against illegal fee collection
Earlier in the day, Lamare directed the officials of Meghalaya Transport Corporation (MTC) to ensure that nobody indulges in charging illegal fees inside the inter-state bus terminus at Mawiong.
The direction comes following reports that some elements are charging Rs 200 from people who go to the ISBT to collect goods. This reportedly happens inside the ISBT despite the presence of security guards. People are also required to pay parking fees.
After inspecting the ISBT on Wednesday, Lamare told the officials of the MTC he had received a complaint that some groups or organisations are illegally collecting money from people when they come to collect goods. “You have to look into this,” the minister instructed the officials.
He also inspected the area where the roof leaked. He was apprised by the officials that it was a minor glitch and the problem has been fixed. The officials said the repairing work was completed within two days after videos of the leakage went viral on social media.
The officials also told the minister that most of the MTC buses operating in Shillong are school buses.
On the exorbitant fares charged by local cabbies, Lamare said the department is trying its best to come up with a solution which will benefit both cabbies and commuters.
