Shillong, Sept. 8: Chief minister D.D. Lapang is under pressure from his regional coalition partners to review the decision to shift the Assembly to Mawdiangdiang on the outskirts of the city.

The high-power committee, which was formed to decide the location of the new Assembly building, approved a 50-acre site near the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences at Mawdiangdiang.

The issue has already led to a debate within the Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA). A number of coalition partners have not approved of the committee?s decision.

The Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP), which is a key coalition partner in the MDA, has challenged the idea of shifting the Assembly to Mawdiangdiang.

MDP president Martle Mukhim, who is also minister in the MDA ministry, said after a party meeting today that the cabinet was the ?supreme body? regarding the decision.

He said only the cabinet could give the final clearance on whether the site at Mawdiangdiang was suitable for construction of the new Assembly building.

?We have to take every decision to the cabinet and this has not been done in the case of the new Assembly construction,? said Mukhim.

Mukhim expressed surprise at ?the hasty manner? in which the decision to construct the Assembly building at Mawdiangdiang was taken.

He was also critical of the fact that a portion of the ?old heritage Assembly premises? near police bazaar has been demolished without the knowledge of the cabinet.

A part of the old Assembly premises facing Police Bazaar has been razed to widen the roads and construct ?a green park? for the public. The old Assembly building was gutted a few years ago.

The demolition of the old building and location of the new building at Mawdiangdiang has given rise to intense debate among the MDA coalition partners, who are now demanding an explanation from Lapang.

Mukhim said the Assembly should be constructed on the same premise and not at Mawdiangdiang as the proposed location is too far from the city and would disrupt the smooth functioning of the Assembly.

Mawdiangdiang has also been identified for the new Shillong township, the blueprint of which is already in its final stages.

After selecting Mawdiangdiang as ?a suitable site?, the committee had said the decision was taken keeping mind the new Shillong township.

Lapang had defended the decision saying the city was ?too congested? and the state government was keen on shifting important government establishments to Mawdiangdiang.