Shillong, Jan 24: The Meghalaya government on Wednesday laid the foundation of three roads leading to the New Shillong Township (NST) which include Bellafonte-NST (estimated project cost Rs. 49 crores), Diengpasoh Road to Shillong Bypass (cost Rs. 55 crores), and Bribah Mawpat-NST (cost Rs. 27-49 crores).
The program, held at Hotel Vivanta, Police Bazar, Shillong, witnessed the presence of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, who also serves as the PWD Minister.
The laying of the foundation stone also involves improving and widening the balance length of Shillong Diengpasoh Road to a 2-Lane Standard, extending from 14 km to 21.20 km.
The tendering process for these three roads is expected to take place in a couple of weeks, and work is anticipated to start very soon.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Sangma acknowledged the struggles with congestion, traffic issues, and the overall growth of Shillong city over the years. He stated that numerous efforts have been made in the past to expand and extend the city to alleviate congestion.
“While many efforts were made in the past, this may be the first time, especially in the last two years, that we are seeing a planned and focused approach to make the dream of decongesting Shillong a reality,” said the Chief Minister.
He stated the need to improve the existing Shillong city and create new infrastructure for the Shillong Township and administrative city outside the current city. ‘The pace at which the transformation is starting, that pace has never been there in the past and you will also see many new projects that are going to come up,’ he added.
Regarding the new secretariat at NST, the government is in the planning stage, working on the design, expected to be completed by March. The Chief Minister will review the design presentations next week, and construction is expected to commence by October. The government anticipates that the shift will help minimise traffic in Shillong city.
Several other projects are scheduled to be inaugurated this year, including the Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC), a system for monitoring the entire Shillong city with over 300 cameras as part of the Smart City project.
Another project at Golf Link, in collaboration with the Golf Association, will create parks, adventure sports areas, and spaces for people to sit and walk.
“Shillong is going to see a transformation like never before,” added Sangma.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong stated that the government will provide technical assistance to rangbah shnongs and help plan the transformation of towns into modern, planned areas.
“The challenges we face at present is the land tenure system we have. So the government alone can’t do anything. The land owners, the headmen, committee of villages and others you are directly linked as stakeholders…it will be just a dream if govt alone has to handle this but that can become a reality if we work together,” said Tynsong.
 which include Bellafonte-NST (estimated project cost Rs. 49 crores), Diengpasoh Road to Shillong Bypass (cost Rs. 55 crores), and Bribah Mawpat-NST (cost Rs. 27-49 crores).){kind=link}