New Assembly building 80% complete: Speaker

SHILLONG, March 13: Meghalaya Assembly Speaker, Thomas A. Sangma on Monday said almost 80% of the work on the left and right wings of the new Assembly building in New Shillong Township has been completed.
The biggest challenge for the government is to reconstruct the dome on the central part of the building, he said after inspecting the progress of the work.
The 70-tonne dome collapsed on March 22, 2022.
Sangma said the new design of the dome will be vetted and approved by IIT Roorkee and IIT Guwahati. Necessary approval of the design from these two institutions is awaited, he added.
The PWD has been already instructed by the Speaker’s office to expedite the process of approval with the two IITs for the work to start.
In addition, the High-Powered Committee will have to be re-constituted, he said.
Sangma said he is not aware of the allegations of corruption surrounding the construction of the building as nobody has filed any complaints, but assured that his office will be transparent.
He clarified that firms involved with the project cannot just be removed as they have to fulfil certain agreements made during the awarding of work. Certain justifications would also have to be made for their removal, he said.
Sangma said there are also plans to construct the staff quarters, Speaker’s residential quarters, MLAs’ hostel, a school and a hospital in the second phase of the project that would start soon.