Shillong, Jan 13: The low cost housing unit project under the Centrally-sponsored JNNURM Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme at Nongmynsong is laying abandon for over a year now. The project was left abandoned by Hindustan Prefab Limited after they refuse to continue with the project.
Now, the Urban affairs Ministry is contemplating to hand the project over to the MeECL for completion.
Meghalaya urban affairs minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said “the MeECL is reviewing and preparing for completing the project.”
When asked that being from power section how does MeECL can venture into construction, Lyngdoh said, “ MeECL is a corporation and it is engaging in its exercise to venture into the construction of the abandoned housing project.”
It has been brought to notice that the firm was facing difficulties in meeting the capacity of required labour force.
Elaborating further about the project, Lyngdoh informed that the HPL has surrendered all the project in the state and the department has asked for the inventory from the company.
She also asserted that that the state Government has also paid certain amount of money to HPL group which the company is yet to return. She further said that the department will hold discussions with company to get the money back.
Lyngdoh maintained that the project was surrendered by the HPL as there were land and workers issues and she said that the project was sought from the union government without looking at the land details.
The company was awarded the project in 2008 and it was engaged in building over 600 low cost dwelling units for the urban poor under the centrally-sponsored JNNURM.
Lyngdoh admitted that even the Mawprem Housing and Kynjat phutbol project was also hypothetically planned
The first 96 dwelling units of a total of 600 proposed units at Nongmynsong, constructed so far, have housed 64 BPL families from Nongmynsong and 32 from Pynthorbah.
The scheme was sanctioned in 2007 at an estimated cost of Rs 30.44 crore.
The original deadline for completion of the two phases was August 2009 and January 2010 respectively but the project’s deadline has gone well beyond its stipulated time.(SP News)
