In several cities, the government is going ahead with ambitious construction projects despite the high office-vacancy rates in those cities. The vacant offices, though available for leasing, unfortunately do not meet the requirements for the facilities needed, such as court houses and laboratories. The government, therefore, is not guilty of any fiscal wastefulness.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument above depends?
(A) Adaptation of vacant office space to meet the government’s requirements, if possible, would not make leasing such office space a more cost-effective alternative to new construction.
(B) The government prefers leasing facilities to owning them in cases where the two alternatives are equally cost-effective.
(C) If facilities available for leasing come very close to meeting the government’s requirements for facilities the government needs, the government can relax its own requirements slightly and consider those facilities in compliance.
(D) The government’s construction projects would not, on being completed, add to the stock of facilities available for leasing in the cities concerned.
(E) Before embarking on any major construction project, the government is required by law to establish beyond any reasonable doubt that there are no alternatives that are more cost-

Definitely (A)

If adjustments are made to make the existing facilities suitable for courts and other government offices then government need not go ahead with new construction provided the adjustment costs are lower than those required for new constructions.
Only then we can say that the government is not @fault.

agree with (A)

Thanks anandnk for explaining.

The author concludes that since the office spaces are going to be used for some other facilities that are not currently catered for, therefore the government is not guilty of waste.
This is based on the assumption that the offices can be rented out. If they are going to white elephants, then they are guilty of wastage. (D) seesm to be appropriate.

(A) is close, but our question to the conclusion is "Is the government wasting money by building new offices?"
In (A), adaptation was suggested as an option to building new offices, but this was never touched on in the passage.

I'll stick with (D)

IMO "A" can't be the answer.

in the stem only "vacant office spaces are mentioned". no-where is it mentioned that the govt holds the ownership of those office spaces.

then how can one/author assume that the govt will renovate the office spaces to meet the new standards. the question of cost effectiveness comes later.
in that way "D"is the best answere.

If the stem mentioned that it is the govt that owns the vacant office spaces ,then only "A" could be assumed along side"D".

please clear this doubt.

Wow I'm stuck between A and D....on the test I would choose D because by utilizing the denial test D seems to me a better answer than A.

If you deny the statement in D and say that the new construction projects will add to the stock of vacant building then the government is being wastful by putting up the same type of buildings.

If you deny A then you say that it less cost effective to construct new buildings than to remodel the vacant buildings.

So really they're both good...wow I just confused myself!
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"No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.

A as well
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Praveen