Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma unveiled foundation stones for three road projects leading to the New Shillong Township (NST), part of the government’s aim to reduce congestion in the state capital.
The roads comprise Lumshyiap Bellafonte to NST (Rs 49 crore), Diengpasoh to Shillong Bypass (Rs 55 crore) and Bribah Mawpat to NST (Rs 21 crore)
Shillong-Diengpasoh Road is also being widened.
The tendering process for these three roads is expected to take place in a couple weeks time and work is expected to start soon after that.
Although many efforts had been made in the past to work towards expanding the city and extending it so that they are able to decongest the roads, this is the first time, the CM said, that a “planned and a focused approach” has been taken to make the dream of a decongested Shillong into reality.
The nerve centre of government, the Secretariat, is meant to be shifted to the NST. The design of the new building is being worked out, Sangma informed, and should be complete by March, with construction beginning in October.
Several other projects will be inaugurated this year, like the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), part of the Smart City project. This is a system with images from 300-plus CCTV cameras beamed to a central location on a giant screen.
Another project involves a tie-up with the Shillong Golf Course owners to create a small park, adventure sports area and a place for people to sit and walk.
“Shillong is going to see a transformation like never before,” the CM added.
Meanwhile, Deputy CM Prestone Tynsong said, “A planned city is set to develop within the next three years. We are fully committed to this project.”
He said the government will provide headmen with technical assistance and help them plan how to modernise their neighbourhoods in a planned manner.
“The challenges we face at present is the land tenure system we have. So the government alone can’t do anything. The land owners, the headmen, committee of villages and others you are directly linked as stakeholders…it will be just a dream if the government alone has to handle this but that can become a reality if we work together,” said Tynsong.
