Govt should not entertain winter capital demand: Ampareen

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 18, 2023

Cabinet minister and spokesperson of the MDA government Ampareen Lyngdoh on Tuesday said demand of a winter capital should not be entertained.

Lyngdoh told reporters that the state of Meghalaya has a very divergent combination of districts and if everybody is going to be rising and saying bring the winter capital here, bring the spring capital there, bring the summer capital there then it is all going to go wrong.

“It would be not correct to consider any kind of a capital anywhere else. We are in Shillong, it is the capital and we hope that these demands should not be entertained. That is my personal view because we will be in trouble if every district starts saying “bring this to my district bring that to my district  it will be difficult for us to administrate,” she said while commenting on the indefinite hunger strike in Garo Hills demanding for a winter capital in Tura.

“The very fact that ministers are going all the way to various parts of the districts with that one intention, we can come to your district, we review your matters, take care of the matters and be there to make sure that you do not feel left out in governance but we can’t have summer capital there, winter capital there, spring capital there, autumn capital here, it is not possible,” Lyngdoh added.

The spokesperson also reminded that the very fact that so many blocks have recently been installed and put in position, the basic idea is to bring administration closer to the public. 

Stating that she is just looking at things from a practical perspective, Lyngdoh further asserted, “If you are going to have capitals everywhere then I think administration will miss the point.”

Meanwhile, she informed that the chief minister Conrad K Sangma will be meeting the leaders of the ACHIK and GSMC when he visits Garo Hills on July 24.

“I am sure that some sense will prevail and some understanding will be there as a result as we are trying our best to take the blocks to the people. When you say a block office that is when you know the presence of administration in that block otherwise we are going to have a big problem. We are not going to be able to control these demands,” she stated.