Despite collapse, dome idea may stay

SHILLONG, June 6: PWD (Buildings) Minister, Dasakhiatbha Lamare is not in favour of scrapping the idea of installing the dome on the upcoming Meghalaya Assembly building even after its collapse due to unknown reasons.
He told reporters here on Monday that he – on a personal note – would reject all suggestions of dropping the steel dome from the Assembly building’s design.
“Just because it fell does not mean that we will change the design or structure. It is going to be the pride of Meghalaya and we will bring it back with a stronger foundation, better alignment and support,” Lamare said.
Denying that the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority had objected to the height of the dome, he said the MUDA made the suggestion a few days after the incident. “I don’t want the design of the dome to change but it will finally depend on the government as many departments and committees are involved in the process,” Lamare said.
The minister had earlier said the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) casually conducted the auditing and that an IITG professor and some officials of the PWD (Buildings) had visited the site. The IITG team had suggested engaging 15-18 professionals for the auditing, he added.
The IITG, after empanelment for conducting the auditing of the Assembly building, is learnt to have sought ample time for the job as they would need to bring in manpower and equipment.
Meanwhile, a Division Bench of the High Court of Meghalaya disposed of a PIL pertaining to the Assembly building dome collapse with liberty to any public-spirited individual to raise the issues again, if it is not appropriately dealt with by the administration.
The Division Bench said there has been constant bickering about the fallen dome, hoping that the High-Powered Committee set up to find out the reasons behind the collapse would suggest remedial measures.
“Since it is for the state to take appropriate action against the builder and the matter pertains to apparently faulty construction or design, the court does not deem it proper to rush into the case immediately and without allowing the appropriate authorities to deal with the matter in accordance with the law,” the court said while disposing of the petition.