JHADC told to work with JMB on garbage management

The Meghalaya High Court has asked the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) to act in conjunction with the municipality to ease the citizens’ woes in regard to the garbage collection in Jowai town.

“In the meantime, the Jaintia District Council should act in conjunction with the Municipality to ease the citizens’ woes,” the division bench said in its order passed after hearing a PIL filed by the Synjuk Ki Waheh Shnong Jowai.

An affidavit has been filed by the Jowai Municipality pursuant to the order dated April 17, 2023.

The petitioner flagged several issues and said that all is not well in the matter of collection of garbage in the town of Jowai.

The petitioner’s affidavit in such regard should be filed within a week from date, the bench said while adding that the matter will appear 10 days hence.

The next hearing on the matter will be held on May 12.

HC asks Jowai Municipal Board how it is disposing garbage

The Meghalaya High Court today directed the Jowai Municipal Board to file an affidavit to indicate how the garbage is being disposed of at the moment in Jowai town.

Hearing a PIL filed by the Synjuk Ki Waheh Shnong Jowai, the division bench said that despite the Jowai Municipality’s assertion that a better schedule for garbage collection is now in place, the petitioner complained that collection takes place only several times a month, rather than several times a week.

Despite previous observations, both the Jowai Municipality and the State appear to be rather indifferent to the plight of the residents in Jowai, it said.

The Court said since the Municipality claims that a better schedule is in operation and seriously disputes the submission made on behalf of the petitioner, the relevant schedule should be disclosed by way of an affidavit when the matter appears a week hence.

“The schedule should indicate the localities where trucks are assigned, the registration numbers of the trucks and the duration that the trucks remain for collection of garbage at various localities. A map of Jowai should accompany the affidavit to indicate that the entirety of the town is covered by the garbage collection drive. The Municipality should also indicate how the garbage is being disposed of at the moment, even while the compost plant is being made ready,” it said in the order.

The next hearing will be held on April 27.

Meghalaya Assembly Speaker wants approval of new dome design expedited

Staff Reporter

Shillong, March 13: Assembly Speaker Thomas A Sangma has asked the Public Works Department (Building) to speed up getting the approval of the new design for the dome of the new Assembly building at Mawdiangdiang.

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“I have already instructed and requested the PWD (Building) to expedite approval of the new design without which the work cannot start,” Sangma told reporters after conducting an inspection to the construction site today.

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Stating that the progress of work is satisfactory, the Speaker however said, “The middle portion which is the main chamber –where the dome had collapsed – that part is still not started, otherwise the left wing and the right wing (of the new Assembly building) are almost completed.”

“80 percent of the works are already completed but we can’t have an Assembly without the main chamber. There is a new design of the dome which has to be vetted and approved by two Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) – IIT Roorkee and IIT Guwahati. So we are waiting for their approval of the new design,” he said.

Sangma also informed that he is also in the process of reconstituting the High Powered Committee (HPC).

The dome of the under-construction new building of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly had collapsed on May 22, last year.

When asked, the Speaker said the implementing agencies have been asked to remove debris (caused by the dome collapsed) by April 15.

“That was the only deadline we have set today because without which the work cannot start and without the approval of the new design work cannot start. Only when the work starts then we can set a timeline (for completion of the new Assembly building),” he added.

On the allegations of corruption in the construction of the new Assembly, the Speaker said, “Such allegations of corruption have not come to his notice. If there is any I can assure you that my office will be very transparent in this regard and we will try our best not to have any kind of allegation…we will try to be transparent as much as possible.”

He assured by saying, “I would look into this but just based on somebody (allegation) or without any written complaint or without any proof or evidence, I cannot just go about kind of taking unnecessary things out in the open. I will certainly look into it but as I told you earlier it has not come to my notice yet but if it comes if I feel that there is some kind of misconduct or something unusual I will certainly look into it.”

Admitting that the Assembly has been functioning from a temporary building for several years, the Speaker said that he would like to see the new building of the Assembly completed during his time.

“I feel that I should be able to step into that new Assembly during my time. I don’t know there are so many things. This is the only first phase. There will be a second phase which will include the staff quarters, the minister’s quarters, speaker’s residential quarter, MLA hostels, hospital, school,” he said while informing that they have decided to push the government to also start the second phase simultaneously side by side.