Govt buildings: Wasted and abandoned

Morung Express News
Dimapur| September 26  

Traveling throughout Nagaland one cannot miss the number of abandoned government constructed buildings. Most of these abandoned buildings have been built in the last two decades under various government grand-in-aid schemes. A rest house, marketing sheds bus stops and weaving units; you name it- all lying abandoned, some beyond repair. Throughout the length and breath of the State, these abandoned buildings are a reflection of the public’s apathy towards public property. 

In the last few decades, the State government has constructed hundreds of buildings/ structures for benefit of the public. But the government has also failed to asses the utility and has constructed such buildings randomly. It is, therefore, not surprising to find a marketing shed in the middle of a road where vehicles don’t ply regularly and humans don’t care. On most occasions, it is the work of local MLAs, in alliance with the various departments, just to please the public. They call it ‘development.’   

Construction of these abandoned buildings has not only incurred loss of hundred lakh of rupees for the government, they have now become a cause of concern for the public too. Most buildings are still intact and are used by anti-social elements after-hours. There are some which have been vandalized by people and one cannot help noticing the filthy inscriptions on the walls. Some have become cow sheds and urine sheds; some even used for open defecation.   

A few villages propose the government for construction genuinely feeling the need for such buildings. In some cases, caretakers are appointed and given salary (in the case of a rest house). But in the long run they cease to function and become useless. These buildings are then neither deconstructed and their materials reused or recycled. They simply lie there wasted and abandoned. The only person who profits is the contractor.  

Everyday people pass through abandoned government constructed buildings but not many realise it is their money gone waste. While many government schools and hospitals in the State are running without proper building infrastructure, countless buildings are being constructed only to become abandoned.