Shillong: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma walked out of a high-stakes review meeting on Tuesday after ripping into the slow progress at the new Meghalaya Legislative Assembly complex in Mawkasiang. The session lasted under 10 minutes. A furious Sangma told the project representative: "You are playing with my reputation. That is what you are doing…. I will not let you go. I will cancel the work."
The Chief Minister inspected the New Shillong Township site before the meeting turned sour. He focused his rage on the interior work of the main hall, accusing contractors of dragging their feet. The contract for this interior work belongs to local contractor Kitbok Warbah, who brought in a New Delhi-based firm for the job. This layer of sub-contracting apparently stalled the project, sparking the Chief Minister's outburst.
This is a high-pressure build. The complex project is handled by Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam Ltd and designed by Design and Associates out of New Delhi. It aims to replace the original building lost to fire two decades ago. The site carries baggage. In May 2022, the assembly dome collapsed, leading to an investigation and massive public blowback. No injuries occurred, but the shadow of that failure remains. The Chief Minister's Office has stayed quiet since the Tuesday walkout. It is unclear if he will actually pull the plug on the project.
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