IIT Guwahati, while willing to undertake the audit following the collapse of the dome at the under-construction new Assembly building, has asked for more time to assemble its team of professionals, Public Works Department (Buildings) Minister Dasakhiatbha Lamare said today.
IIT Guwahati is one of several organisations that have come forward to undertake the third-party audit. A team from the institute had visited the site in Mawdiangdiang here soon after the collapse two weeks ago but only to recce the site. “They need more professionals to start the investigation,” Lamare said.
Meanwhile, the minister also reacted to a news report today that stated that Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) officials had objected to having a giant dome on the building but that the government ignored them. MUDA is responsible for the state’s building bylaws.
However, Lamare said today that MUDA had issued its warning a few days after the dome’s collapse, not before construction began.
There will be between 15 and 18 professionals in the IIT Guwahati team, he added.
“My focus here is that we have to find and get a genuine report as to why the dome collapsed. So, I don’t feel right to pressure them to be as quick as possible, since I feel we should give them reasonable time to prepare the team and equipment to carry out the inspection, so that we get a genuine report. After that further action will be taken,” he stated.
Despite the embarrassment over the whole collapse, the government seems determined to have a dome on top of the new Assembly, which Lamare reiterated today.
“The structure will be the first in the North East. This building will be a landmark for Meghalaya,” he said.
