SHILLONG: The low quality Corrugated Galvanised Iron (CGI) sheets on rooftops have caused more damage to the houses affected by hailstorm and rain in the last few days.
When the issue was raised on Saturday, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said the first priority of the government was to provide relief and added that other issues would be dealt with later.
A senior government official said the distribution of CGI sheets was done by MLAs and it was up to them to ensure quality.
He said the Housing Department can be entrusted with the job and quality can be maintained.
When there was hailstorm and rain in the past, there were instances of hailstones piercing through the roofs made of CGI sheets in several villages.
However, the official said good quality CGI sheets can survive adverse weather conditions.
In 2010, the scam related to providing low quality CGI sheets worth Rs 9 crore was unearthed through RTI findings by the initiative of Meghalaya Right to Information Movement (MRTIM).
The state government, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and a supplier were named for supplying substandard CGI sheets for four years from 2003 to 2006.
However, sources said the situation has not changed since 2006 though the previous MUA-II government decided to release aluminium sheets instead of CGI tins from last year.
