Reacting to the collapse of the under-construction dome at the new Assembly building over the weekend, leader of the opposition Dr Mukul Sangma today said that the public are losing confidence in infrastructure projects launched by the current government and those that are entrusted with seeing them through.
The state government has come under intense fire of late for a string of problems with infrastructure built under its watch, including the Mawlai Bypass bridge, Inter State Bus Terminus and, most recently, the collapsed dome of the new Assembly building.
“All of us must ask the government to see that independent quality monitoring agencies who will be appointed are based on a very transparent mode of awarding such responsibility including following CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) guidelines,” Dr Sangma told reporters after the High-Powered Committee (HPC) meeting today to discuss the embarrassing collapse.
“This asset construction is not only for one year or two but for generations to come and should benefit and be in keeping with the expectations and aspirations of the people. There’s a need to address these concerns with an utmost sense of seriousness and honesty to ensure that all works in the process of implementation are free from this manipulation of quality and technical specification,” he stated.
He further maintained that even if a third-party independent agency is appointed, it has to ensure that CVC guidelines and a completely transparent procedure are followed and the respondents have to be treated as respondents.
Alleging that there has been a cost overrun and that there is a need to find out what has led to this cost overrun, he said, “They may say there has been some new scope of work and technicalities to be blamed for the cost overrun but is this just another way to ensure that the bill changes to justify cost escalation for vested interests?”
He also questioned whether the subcontracting and outsourcing of work has been done in the right manner, adding that all this has shaken the public’s confidence in the government.
