Shillong Oct 3: The Meghalaya State Planning Board is suggesting the State government to create a multi-storey parking facility to reduce congestion in the city and create a separate space in the state capital just like Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, a venue for organizing agitation by various groups and activists.

To push the idea forward, Chairman of the Board, Lambor Malngiang inspected a 2-acre plot which housed the offices of the state PWD at Barik Point here opposite Shillong Civil Hospital along with members of the Board and officials of various departments.

Malngiang said that the plot which housed the PWD offices was a suitable one for building the proposed multi-storey parking facility as well as for creating a separate venue for organizing various agitational programmes.

“We have asked the PWD to submit a report within a month,” he said, adding that it is upto the state government to accept the suggestion.

He said that the offices of the PWD have to be relocated from the campus if the proposed projects have to come up there.

The government led by former Chief Minister, E.K. Mawlong during 2000-2001 had also come up with this idea of creating a permanent space by segregating a plot from the PWD campus at Barik Point for various groups or activists to hold their agitation.

But the idea did not move forward after the government led by Mawlong collapsed because of corruption charges leveled against him in connection with the construction of Meghalaya House at Kolkata.

Mawlong faced huge pressure especially from the Khasi Students’ Union under the leadership of its former president, Paul Lyngdoh and the People’s Rally Against Corruption (PRAC) and cancelled the agreement with the then Asian Housing Corporation Limited (AHCL).

Interestingly, after his resignation as Chief Minister, the subsequent Government allotted the construction to the same company (AHCL) at four times the initial cost.

To clear his name from the corruption allegations, Mawlong filed a Writ Petition in the Shillong Bench of the Gauhati High Court.

On January 28, 2008, the Gauhati High Court cleared Mawlong of wrongdoing in the alleged scam. In its ruling, the court ordered the Meghalaya government not to pursue charges against Mawlong in the case.