Shillong, Dec 5: The Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, Thomas A Sangma, conducted an inspection and chaired a review meeting today regarding the construction of the new Assembly building at Mawdiangdiang.
The Deputy Speaker, Timothy D Shira, along with Dr. Andrew Simons, Commissioner and Secretary of the Meghalaya Assembly, and officials from various line departments and the Assembly Secretariat, attended the meeting.
Following the inspection-cum-review meeting at Mawdiangdiang, the Speaker reaffirmed his commitment to completing the project at the earliest.
The Speaker informed that a deadline has been set to complete the construction of the new Assembly building by July or August of 2024. He stated that the intention is to hold the next Autumn Session at the new Assembly building of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.
Speaking on the meeting and inspection today, the Speaker said, ‘We called different departments today. We had called the PHE Department, which will take care of water supply in the complex. We also called Social Forestry Department, which will take care of the landscaping of the premises, and also other departments, like Arts and Culture, which will look into aspect of putting traditional colour to the Assembly and many other dept like IT Department, NIC. So, we have taken opinions from various departments so the work is in good progress we don’t want to let the work to go slow.’
Addressing a question about the building’s dome structure, the Speaker provided an update, mentioning that all debris has been cleared, and structural layout work is now in progress. He explained that the entire dome structure will be constructed using prefabricated steel, with the prefabricated steel structures expected to arrive this month and January 2023. The installation or fitting of these prefabricated steel structures is scheduled to commence in February and conclude by April.
Furthermore, he noted that the dome structure will be vetted by both IIT Guwahati and IIT Roorkee.
Discussing the second phase of the project, the Speaker shared that the Ministry of the Development of North East Region has given assurance, in principle, to sanction the second phase, and the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is currently underway. Expressing optimism, he mentioned that he anticipates the sanctioning of the second phase within the current budget year.