New Shillong Township: 229.724 Acres for Administrative Complex, 807.7 Acres for Knowledge City (January 2024)

What was decided

The Urban Affairs Department was allotted an area of 229.724 acres in the New Shillong Township at Mawdiangdiang to set up the Administrative Complex, which will include the Secretariat building, directorate offices and other offices. The Urban Affairs Department will prepare the master plan to demarcate the land for development of infrastructure.

Separately, the Urban Affairs Department has acquired 807.7 acres of land at Mawkhanu to develop key sectors such as tourism, hospitality, music, sports, information technology and agriculture under the New Shillong Township Knowledge City (NSTKC). The New Shillong Township Development Agency (NSTDA) has been designated as the implementing agency for this special project.

Regulatory framework for the Knowledge City

All projects to be undertaken under the NSTKC will have to comply as per the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 and as per the Meghalaya Real Estate (Regulation and Development) General Rules, 2016. This means individual real-estate schemes launched inside the Knowledge City footprint will need RERA registration before marketing or sale, once specific projects are notified.

Background: how the two land parcels came about

On January 17, 2022 the cabinet had approved the relocation of the State secretariat to the New Shillong Township, and the government also acquired 807.7 acres of land for the purpose. Earlier in the reporting year, the State government had floated a tender for selection of an agency for preparation of a master plan for the administrative city in the New Shillong Township.

A related Cabinet decision explained the rationale: the Meghalaya Cabinet approved the shifting of the administrative building of the Government to New Shillong Township near Mawpdang-Mawkhanu, with the Home Minister noting that the government was acquiring about 807 acres of land in the new township to address congestion in Shillong.

Allied projects on the same land base

The State government also proposed construction of a Unity Mall in New Shillong Township, alongside the new Administrative City, which will include a business district and regional tourism and hospitality hub; a land parcel of around 17 acres has been allocated for the Unity Mall. The estimated cost of the project as per the DPR is Rs 431 crore and the allocation to the State from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry is Rs 132 crore.

Central funding for roads

Recently, the Central government has allocated Rs 146.79 crore for construction of a new four-lane road and the conversion of an existing two-lane road into a four-lane avenue in New Shillong Township, including cycling tracks, utility ducts and footpaths, aimed at enhancing urban mobility, with the amount allocated from the Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE). Separate central records show this specific road project was sanctioned at Rs 146.79 crore for construction of a new four-lane road and conversion of an existing two-lane road into four-lane with cycling tracks, utility ducts, footpaths at New Shillong Township, under the Directorate of Urban Affairs, Government of Meghalaya.

Practical effect

The January 2024 allotment formalised the land base for two of New Shillong's core zones: a roughly 230-acre government-administration precinct at Mawdiangdiang and an 807.7-acre mixed-sector Knowledge City at Mawkhanu. It cleared the way for master-plan preparation, tendering of the Secretariat/directorate complex, and sector-specific development (education, IT, sports, tourism) inside the Knowledge City footprint under NSTDA's charge, while the PM-DevINE grant addressed trunk road capacity needed to serve both zones.

Subsequent state reporting shows the land base for the Knowledge City was later described in round figures of 800 acres at Mawkhanu-Mawpdang in New Shillong Township to develop a state-of-the-art Knowledge City, with a focus on sports, IT, tourism, and agro-logistics, and a further connecting corridor was later pursued: in November 2025, the Meghalaya Cabinet approved acquisition of an additional 35 acres of land at Tynring in New Shillong Township to develop a corridor linking the Administrative City and the Knowledge City.