More than a year since the collapse of the infamous dome of the new Meghalaya Legislative Assembly building at Mawdiangdiang, the building remains ‘domeless’.
Even Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Speaker Thomas Sangma has expressed his disappointment with the progress of the project.
Sangma who made a site inspection today later told media persons that he was not satisfied with the progress of the construction.
“I have asked them to expedite the progress. Discussions were made about the delay of materials to arrive leading to the slow progress. Since the main hall or the central hall will have a dome which is a pre-fabricated steel structure, so 50 per cent of the materials have arrived,” Sangma said.
However, the Speaker is positive that the new Assembly building will be completed by its deadline which is September this year.
He added that the work is almost completed; it is just the central hall that is remaining.
“I have been assured that the central hall will be completed by March. I am taking personal interest, so I will be regularly visiting the site and ensuring the work doesn’t get delayed,” Sangma said.
From March 2001, Assembly sessions were held at the State Central Library auditorium and later shifted to the Arts and Culture auditorium at Rilbong.
Work on the new Assembly building was started in June 2019 and was to be completed by August 2022. The Rs 177.7 crore building is being constructed by Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam Ltd, a public sector undertaking of the Uttar Pradesh government.
However, on May 22, 2022 a portion of the newly constructed Assembly building was destroyed after the 70-ton steel dome collapsed.
In August 2023, the cost for constructing the new Assembly building was increased to Rs 200 crore after the High-Powered Committee (HPC) headed by the Speaker approved an escalated expenditure of Rs 60 crore for the project.
