New bldg of Meghalaya Assembly to come up in Mawdiangdiang

Construction of a new building of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly is likely to commence by October this year, Speaker Abu Taher Mondal said.
"We have approved the structural design for the new Assembly building and construction will start by October," Mondal told PTI here.
The new Assembly building will be constructed on 80 acres at Mawdiangdiang under the New Shillong Township, which is about 11.5 km from the city.
The Speaker said the estimated cost for construction of the new building is around Rs 95 crore and is expected to be completed within 30 months.
Mondal said there is a also proposal by the government to widen the road from Shillong to Mawdiangdiang.

Once the new building is completed, the land where the old building is located will be handed over to the state government, he said.

"We are proposing to convert it into a park where a mini museum displaying a replica of the old Assembly building will be installed for attracting tourists," Mondal said.
The state does not have a permanent Assembly building since 2001 after a major fire destroyed the old Assembly building at Khyndailad.
In 2004, the Assembly had resolved not to shift the site for reconstruction of the building to Mawdiangdiang, but went back on the decision after protests from residents.

Another decision to have the new building at Taraghar, a heritage site, was dropped after a petition was filed before the High Court.