Congress MLA Charles Pyngrope said that the plan of the State government to construct a shopping mall at Barik in the city will not bring any benefit.
“The world has changed and even before Covid-19 pandemic hit us many shopping malls have shut down because online shopping has taken over the shopping malls and generated employment for the youth,” Pyngrope opined.
Stating that even though infrastructures are needed to generate the revenue for the State there are things that need to be thought ten times, he said.
“More importantly this place in Barik can be turned into the lungs of the city by planting a lot of greenery,” Pyngrope added.
He said the world is planting trees to protect the environment and restore the balance and if there is a kind of recreational park with a lot of greenery instead of the shopping mall at Barik it will be of great benefit to all.
Recently, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong had said that nothing has been finalised on building a shopping mall at Barik, and the design selected earlier for constructing an iconic structure was not specifically meant for the area at Barik and the design can be utilised for in other places too to build an iconic structure.
The proposed construction of an iconic structure at Barik point was initiated under the Smart City Mission by the Urban Affairs Department in 2019.
The State government had already spent Rs 12 lakh for the purpose or designing the iconic structure.
Five firms which include the Department of Architecture, Science and Technology NEHU, Design Cell Faws Design Shillong, Flying Elephant Studio Project, Bangalore, M/s Kshestra, Hyderabad and Visio Architecture Ltd Port Louis, Mauritius, had participated in the competition.
Out of five firms, a design prepared by the Flying Elephant Studio Project, Bangalore was selected.
There has opposition against the move of the MDA government to change from an earlier plan to build an iconic structure to constructing a shopping mall at Barik.
UDP which is part of the MDA government, has already raised strong objection against any move to build the shopping mall.
