• NET Web Desk

A division bench of the Meghalaya High Court (HC) on Monday has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding the dome collapse of Meghalaya Assembly building, claiming the matter will be looked-upon by state administration.

“It is for the State to take appropriate action against the builder, and the matter pertains to apparently faulty construction or design, the Court does not deem it proper to rush into the case without allowing the appropriate authorities to deal with the matter in accordance with law,” – the bench comprising of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh stated in their order.

Furthermore, the court stated that a high-powered panel has been constituted to investigate the reason of the dome’s collapse and suggest remedial measures.

Recently, the Meghalaya Chief Minister – Conrad K Sangma asserted that the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) will audit the steel dome collapse of the under-construction Assembly building.

A team of experts from IIT-Guwahati is studying the exact cause of the dome collapse and will soon conduct a technical audit of the structure.

This 70-tonne steel dome of the under-construction Meghalaya assembly building at Mawdiangdiang in New Shillong Township collapsed on May 22, at around 12:30 AM. As per reports, the dome collapsed, due to a design flaw.

Construction for this new Assembly building had commenced in 2019 and was scheduled to end in July this year. The contract for this project was given to Uttar-Pradesh based ‘Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam (UPRNN) Ltd.’, and the total cost of the project is Rs 127 crores.

Its worthy to note that the northeastern state don’t have a permanent Assembly building, since the old wooden one of 1937 was reduced to ashes in 2001.

The 60-member House is temporarily meeting at an auditorium next to the historic Brookside Bungalow, which was previously retreat to Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.