SHILLONG, June 11: The dome portion of the under-construction Meghalaya Legislative Assembly building in New Shillong Township will be erected by the end of August this year.
Sources told The Shillong Times that the process of erecting the dome will start in July and will take a month to complete.
The prefabricated steel dome structure is being made in Durgapur, West Bengal.
The sources said work for erecting the new dome is going on according to an IIT design. The plan is to complete the entire Assembly building by the end of this year as the government is keen on holding a special one-day session in the new building before Christmas.
“Even if the targeted date is missed, the Assembly will be fully ready by the Budget session of next year,” one of the sources said.
The finishing and painting work are being done in the middle and right wings of the building where the work is 90% complete.
The sources said there has been no hiccup in the work so far.
The dome will be erected on the central wing of the building. The new Assembly building will comprise a centralised air conditioner, some 100 rooms including lounges, and conference halls for the ruling party or parties, the Opposition, and officers.
Meghalaya has been without a permanent Assembly building for more than 23 years after a fire destroyed the iconic old structure at Khyndai Lad on January 9, 2001. Since then, the sessions have been held at the temporary Assembly in the Rilbong area of Shillong.