SHILLONG, May 23: The Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, Metbah Lyngdoh has assured that an independent enquiry committee will be constituted to find the root cause leading to the collapse of the Dome installed at the construction of the new Assembly, while expressing shock and sadness over the incident.
The Speaker informed that the officers and engineers of the PWD(Building) conducted an inspection of the construction site today and in the evening he called for an emergency meeting with the senior officials of the PWD(Building), the company which was assigned the project and the consultant company. He informed that tomorrow he shall personally conduct an inspection of the construction site and will also inform the Chief Minister to go along with the members of the High Power Committee.
Speaking with media persons, Metbah Lyngdoh said that the root cause of the collapse is still unknown. But he said that the fault could be from the contractor’s end or from the design, and added that those at fault must take responsibility for the collapse.
He said that in order to continue with the construction of the new Assembly building, a third party audit must be carried out first to ensure that the construction will not be affected anymore,and said that following the same design is no longer feasible.
On being queried about the damage, the Speaker said that information on that has not been received as yet and therefore the extent of the damage cannot be ascertained.
With regards to the allegations of the Congress on a sub-contract being granted to Badri Rai and Company Ltd whose tender was rejected, Lyngdoh said that he was not aware of it because in connection to the construction of the building, the process is handled by the PWD(Building) of the Government.
