SHILLONG, May 19: PWD Minister, Prestone Tynsong has ruled out a probe into the alleged poor quality construction of the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Mawlai Mawiong but said the officers concerned should be punished for lapses, if any.
He said the officers release the bills of all projects only after they are satisfied with the quality of work undertaken.
Tynsong, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister, said, “There is no need to talk about inquiry. We should talk about how to improve it (ISBT) or if it needs to be repaired or reconstructed.”
He said it is easy for the people to blame the contractor but the government has a system in place. He said the bills are to be prepared by the sub-divisional officer and the junior engineer after examining everything on the ground.
“We are not technical experts but laymen and that is why, we have kept them to supervise work,” he said.
Earlier, he had stated that allegations can be made at any time but there is a need to go deep down into the issues. He had also said that the work was implemented by PWD (Buildings) and it has to take care of the issue.
He had said the government has a system and it will find out what happened at the ISBT and immediate rectification will be made, if needed.
Meanwhile, a team of BJP Meghalaya Central projects monitoring committee, led by MLA, AL Hek, on Thursday inspected the ISBT.
Asked if the party will recommend a probe, Hek told journalists, “We have come to see the substandard work undertaken in this building. We are concerned over the scheme. The central funds should not be drained out but fully utilized for the benefit of the people.”
He said the party will submit a report to the Central government and the North Eastern Council and it will be their call whether or not to take any action against the contractor.
Hek, who also met the DGM of Meghalaya Transport Corporation, expressed concern that the commuters are overcharged for journey from the ISBT to Shillong and vice versa. He said they should not be harassed by anyone. He suggested prepaid taxi service.
