STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Assam Legislative Assembly (ALA) Secretariat on Monday extended the deadline for MLAs to vacate the soon-to-be-demolished Assam-type quarters in the Assembly campus till August 15.
This decision was taken following objections by some MLAs after electricity supply was disconnected to their Assam-type quarters by the ALA authority this morning. The electricity connections were subsequently restored by the ALA authority.
According to ALA officials, some MLA have ignored repeated requests from the Assembly Secretariat to vacate their quarters and shift to rented accommodation by July 20, so that the houses concerned could be demolished to make way for new multi-storey accommodation for the legislators. The Assembly Secretariat recently issued a letter to all MLAs stating that since demolition of the old quarters will start from August 1 next, water and electricity connections of the houses selected for demolition will be disconnected at midnight on July 31.
It may be mentioned that around 54 Assam-type quarters, which were built in the 1970s for ministers and MLAs when Assam's capital was shifted from Shillong to Guwahati, are currently in the process of being demolished. The State Government plans to construct two new multi-storey buildings in the ALA campus.
The MLAs staying in Assam-type houses were informed about the dismantling work in April. They were further informed that they would be paid Rs 50,000 per month to arrange rented accommodation. Sources said that some MLAs, particularly those from Congress, stated that they are unable to vacate leave their quarters as they needed extra time to find rented accommodation.
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