New Delhi, May 8: The oldest autonomous institution in Garo Hills, the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council has decided to set up its very own guest house in India’s capital New Delhi which will provide much needed relief for the citizens of Garo Hills who go there for work and medical treatment but have limited options when it comes to reasonable lodging.

The only other accommodation available for the citizens of the entire state is the Meghalaya guest house which, at most times, cannot provide accommodation due to the high number of visitors.

The chief executive member Albinush Marak along with Chairman of High Powered Committee Rakesh A Sangma visited Delhi, this week, to hold consultations with several union ministers on various subjects and proposals.

They met with Environment minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey and submitted a Rs 308 Crore proposal for a mega green project aimed at restoring the green forest cover of Garo Hills where the GHADC holds ownership of 95 percent of land.

But the latest meeting with Kaushal Kishore, union minister of state for housing and urban affairs, assumes significance as it deals with allotment of land to set up a guest house of the district council in the heart of the nation’s corridors of power.

In their meeting with Shri Kishore at Nirman Bhawan, headquarters of the centre’s housing and urban affairs ministry, GHADC Chief Executive Member Albinush Marak and High Powered Committee Chairman Rakesh A Sangma apprised the central minister about the importance of having a guest house to cater to the requirements of the people of Garo Hills.

“We submitted a proposal seeking allotment of land so as to construct the first ever guest house of the GHADC outside of the state, and that too in India’s capital Delhi, because there is a huge demand for it. Thousands of students from Garo Hills go to Delhi for college and university admissions. They need an affordable place to stay and what better than to have our very own guest house,” said Chairman of HPC Rakesh A Sangma to mediapersons who contacted him to seek out details of their official visit to meet with the union government representatives.

He termed the meeting as “highly fruitful”.

When asked about the feasibility of the project, let alone obtain permission, given that GHADC is part of Meghalaya which already has two state guesthouses in the national capital, the HPC Chairman termed it irrelevant and cited the establishment of similar housing by other autonomous bodies from the north east region.

“We apprised the union minister that since the Boroland Territorial Council and the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council are already operating their own guesthouses in Delhi, apart from Assam House, we in the GHADC also wish to set up a similar project for the benefit of the people of Garo Hills,” says Rakesh A Sangma.

He further gave a fillip by saying that the guest house would not only aid the student community but also numerous families from the Garo Hills who have to seek medical treatment for their loved ones in Delhi.

“It is well known that New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences is the biggest and most sophisticated hospital of our country. Many of our patients go there for treatment, but they have a very difficult time in getting accommodation and depend on Meghalaya House which sometimes cannot provide each and everyone a room or a bed. The GHADC guest house can fill up this void and provide much needed help for our citizens,” believes Rakesh A Sangma.