The
Shillong Times: Shilong: Monday, 31 August 2015.
Even before
the current ‘Smart City’ plan, there were efforts by the State Government to
beautify Shillong in the past, but those projects have not achieved the desired
results.
In 2005, the
Congress led Government had launched beatification of Khyndailad (Police Bazar) with a cost of over
Rs 5 crore, which had evoked criticism from the RTI activists who had alleged
corruption in the implementation of the project. Subsequently there was auditing of the
project and matter was referred to the State Vigilance Commissioner who is the
Chief Secretary.
The
Government has not made public the report of the audit team till date, an RTI
activist said on Sunday.
It was the
Meghalaya Right to Information Movement, consisting of several NGOs, who had unearthed the scam related to the
beautification of Police Bazar, which was inaugurated by the then chief
minister DD Lapang on May 5, 2005.
The project
included erecting a long pole to install lights and a fountain around it,
besides widening the road for a rotary at Police Bazar.
The reply to
RTI petition filed by the NGOs said though the government had stated the cost
of the project to be Rs 5.42 crore, the actual expenditure was only Rs 3.09
crore.
The RTI
activists had also alleged that no tender was called for setting up of the
fountain.
The second
beautification project initiated after six years has had the same fate.
The second
Khyndailad beautification project was launched on October 14, 2011 aiming at
laying tiles on the road to further beatify the city, but nothing much was
achieved from the initiative.
An amount of
Rs. 1.60 crore was spent on the project which had aimed at making the”
Khyndailad thoroughfare a ‘pedestrian zone’ and making walking a pleasant
affair with a path made up of coloured interlocking tiles with no hawkers all
along the thoroughfare”
The RTI
replies and spot visit revealed that despite spending Rs 1. 60 crore,
interlocked tiles have loosened up and given way at several places.
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