Shillong, May 20: Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on Thursday said there is no need to set up any inquiry into the shoddy construction of the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Mawlai Mawiong.
Reacting to the demand for inquiry into the matter, Tynsong said, “No need to talk about inquiry but we need to talk about how to improve it (ISBT) or if need be repair it or if need be reconstruct it.”
He, however, assured that the government will find out and if need be immediate rectification will be done.
Many have expressed concerns over the safety of the ISBT due to the poor quality of work that has led to leakage of the roof.
On the safety concerns, the deputy chief minister said just because the leakages are there, it doesn’t mean that the building of the ISBT is not safe.
“It is safe. The building is good but the leakage is so much. We have already asked the engineers concerned, the SDOs and the technical wing, which has been there till the completion of the project, to do whatever is necessary,” he said.
If action should be taken against the contractor for such shoddy construction, Tynsong said that the project was implemented by the PWD (Buildings) and that the general opinion of people is to blame the contractor only.
He said, in fact, the government already has a system in place where bills are being prepared by the SDOs and the junior engineers (JE) and are released to the contractors based on the satisfaction seen on the ground.
“Therefore, if there is any mistake, officers who are looking after (the project) I think they need to be punished. (As) layman how do we know? I am not a technical expert, that is why we kept them to supervise the work,” Tynsong said.