Meghalaya govt under fire for crumbling infrastructure after Assembly dome collapse

BJP, an ally of Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma’s NPP, has demanded a CBI probe into a series of irregularities

GUWAHATI

The Meghalaya government has been under fire for allegedly encouraging corruption and misuse of funds after the dome of the under-construction Assembly building collapsed on May 22.

The BJP, a constituent of the alliance government headed by the National People’s Party (NPP), has been particularly severe on Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma. It accused him of misusing the Central funds “provided by the BJP” for the benefit of NPP leaders and contractors and setting an example of bad governance.

Bernard N. Marak, vice-president of the State BJP unit, said Mr. Sangma should either let the CBI probe the collapse of the 70-tonne dome and other irregularities or quit. “The BJP had anticipated good governance, all-round development and zero corruption when it lent support to the NPP. But the Chief Minister let the BJP and the people of the state down,” he stated.

State BJP president Ernest Mawrie said, “The greed of politicians, officials and contractors is endangering lives. What if the dome had collapsed after the inauguration of the Assembly building and the House was in session?”.

The Congress and Trinamool Congress also slammed Mr. Sangma for “commission raj” resulting in shoddy work on several infrastructure projects. They cited the collapse of a few under-construction bridges linking strategic villages and the inter-state bus terminus (ISBT) that has been crumbling after the first showers in Meghalaya.

Near State capital Shillong, the ISB was inaugurated a few months ago. But its ceiling has been leaking and its walls have cracked.