Mukul casts aspersions on govt over delay to operationalise WGH’s Pine Mount school

TURA, July 11: Leader of the Opposition, Mukul Sangma, on Thursday slammed the state government for the inordinate delay in starting the Pine Mount International School in Doldegre, Tura, despite over Rs 30 crore already spent on the project.
The former chief minister visited the long-delayed campus, which has been under construction since 2016-17, accompanied by MDCs Rinaldo K Sangma, Pardinand D Shira and Alphonsyus Marak, along with the Nokma of Doldegre, PWD officials and project contractors.
Located about 10 km from Tura, near the upcoming Tura Government Medical College, the 45-acre campus houses five buildings and is intended to be a co-educational institution with hostel facilities, unlike its Shillong counterpart.
“This school was envisioned with the aim of leveraging the Pine Mount name to promote quality education along the lines of Delhi Public School, which has branches in most major centres in the country. The set-up in Tura was aimed at providing an opportunity. Although we started with Tura and Jowai during our term, the vision was to have one such school in each district,” said Mukul while speaking to media persons following his visit to the campus.
Despite reports indicating that 98% of the structures are complete, the campus remains far from ready, with incomplete barbed-wire fencing replacing the planned boundary wall and the absence of essential infrastructure like roads and sports facilities due to budget reductions. The inspection also revealed cracks and peeling paint on parts of the newly built structures, prompting Mukul to warn officials to ensure quality checks before any handover.
Highlighting that Shillong has historically been an educational hub, Mukul emphasised that Pine Mount was intended to bring quality education within reach for low-income families and could serve as a feeder institution supported by surrounding schools in Tura.
“There were some schools which brought people from parts of the Northeast and beyond just because of the quality of education. Pine Mount was supposed to cater to the low-income families to get a quality education but over the years it changed. We wanted to bring this to Tura with the original thought. The various schools around Tura could be the feeder schools to Pine Mount,” said the former chief minister.
“The idea was well thought out. The TGMC nearby, once operational, will have hundreds of doctors and staff whose children could study here,” he added, noting the strategic location near the farmers’ market as another advantage.
Taking a strong stance against the delay, Mukul questioned whether the government was trying to divert the investment meant for the school’s development.
“I have reasons to ask this government as to why they have delayed the start of the school. The project was to be completed within 3 years and academic session to start thereafter,” he said, adding that he would raise the matter with the state government to push for the immediate commencement of classes.
“We will move the government to ensure the school infrastructure helps in the development of education as was envisioned by us earlier. It will be criminal to waste such resources and those doing so need to answer,” the Leader of Opposition added.