Entry points at Umling and Mendipathar ready by Nov and Dec respectively: CM

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaNovember 12, 2020

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday informed that the entry point at Umling in Ri Bhoi district will be ready by this month even as he assured that the government is committed to ensure setting up of entry-exit points is completed at the earliest to further strengthen the mechanism of checking influx into the state.

Replying to a short duration discussion moved by Nongpoh legislator Mayralborn Syiem in the Assembly, Sangma also announced that the registration process at the Umling entry point will start within this calendar year.

Stating that the state government has not stopped the construction of the entry point at Umling, he said in fact, the work for the construction of the Facilitation Centre at the Umling has already started and that the state government has prioritized the setting up of the entry point at Umling as it is one of the main entry points to the state.

He said it was with this in mind the land belonging to the transport department at Umling was identified in 2019.  The land was ideal, as it was government land and was spacious to allow free movement of vehicles.

Earlier, the state government on March 13, conveyed the administrative approval and sanctioned the total estimated cost amounting to Rs 15.92 crore for construction of facilitation centre (entry point) at Umling by limiting the current year expenditure to Rs 50 lakh and the amount was released to the chief engineer PWD (Buildings) on May 28, this year.

However on September 29, the state government based on the advice of the Empowered Sanctioning Committee meeting held on September 23, had de-sanctioned the administrative approval of Rs 15.92 crore for construction of the entry point at Umling and instead for same location had sanctioned an amount of Rs 285.75 lakh for pre-fabricated structure that will serve as a facilitation centre at the entry point, Sangma said.

“This decision was taken to ensure that the facilitation centre is completed at earliest, which will also ensure that it serves as a COVID-19 screening centre,” he added.

Once the facilitation centre is ready and notified as per the provisions of sub-section (1) of Section 17 of the Meghalaya Resident Safety and Security Act, 2016, the District Task Force will designate the officials who will be in charge of the Facilitation Centre as per Rule 8 of the Meghalaya Resident Safety and Security Rules, 2017, which will comprise officials from the Police, Tourism and other relevant departments.

The facilitation centre will also house officials from the Health Department for COVID-19 screening.

Apart from Umling, the chief minister also said that the facilitation centre at Mendipathar Railway Station in North Garo Hills is expected to be completed by December, this year.

Stating that his government is committed to ensure that the process of land acquisition and setting up of facilitation centres is done at the earliest at all entry and exit points, Sangma said 24 locations had been identified in the phase-I, out of a total of 41 for setting up of these entry and exit points, for which land acquisition process is at various stages of progress.

“The state government is keen to ensure that the setting up of the facilitation centres is done at the earliest so that the mechanism of checking influx as envisaged in the Meghalaya Resident Safety and Security Act, 2016 is strengthened,” he said.