SHILLONG:
Meghalaya Assembly speaker Metbah Lyngdoh, on January 31, informed that the construction of the new Assembly building will be completed by the end of June this year.
Lyngdoh informed that he completed a detailed review on the construction of the new Assembly building last week. “Everything will be completed by the end of June. We will take a month for testing and commissioning so that we can start functioning from there by the end of July,” he said.
He also expressed hope that the ongoing pandemic won’t stall the construction work.
“Work has been delayed in the last two years because of Covid-19. Considering this, we have to review and re-fix the date of completion of different aspects of work in the new Assembly building. I hope and pray that this virus does not hamper the construction of the new building,” Lyngdoh said.
Notably, the State Legislative Assembly has no permanent building following the fire incident that destroyed the old assembly building at Khyndailad in 2001, making Meghalaya the only state without an Assembly building.
Allocated to the Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam Ltd-the new Assembly building is under construction on 80 acres of land at Mawdiangdiang in New Shillong township, The estimated cost of the project is Rs 127 crore.
The first phase of the project includes completion of the main hall, rooms of the speaker, chief minister, other ministers, and canteen, to name a few. Quarters for the speaker, deputy speaker, MLAs will be taken up in the second phase of the project.
Apart from the pandemic issue, the delay in construction of the new building also persisted due to problems in finalising the land for the said construction.