SHILLONG: Even as it has been more than a decade since the Nongstoin District jail was conceptualized, the project till date is making tardy progress and far from its completion.
The Government had earmarked Rs 6.25 crore on December 20, 2003, for the construction of the Nongstoin District jail on a plot of 10.35 acres in Photkynthei and it was scheduled to be completed in five years’ time
An official informed that a technical expert committee from the Planning Department visited the project few months back and the committee asked both the PWD and Prison department to work together for the early completion of the project.
According to official, the project is far from completion and now the PWD is waiting for the sanction from the Finance department to resume the construction of the building.
The revised estimate for the project was sent to the Government
The delay in the completion of the Nongstoin district jail has led to overcrowding of the Shillong District Jail as under trial prisoners (UTPs) as well as convicts from West Khasi Hills have to be accommodated there.
Irked with the delay, many NGOs of the West Khasi Hills in the past few years have submitted their memorandum demanding the completion of the district jail.