MDA Govt assures to build Magnificent Meghalaya in next five years: CM
Chief Miniser Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday said his government will build a ‘Magnificent Meghalaya’ in the next five years.
Addressing at the 77th Independence Day celebration in Shillong, Sangma said, “In the next five years, we will build a Meghalaya in which farmer cooperatives will regularly export their produce to national and international markets; a Meghalaya which is rated as the best tourist destination in the country; a Meghalaya where most villages are covered with the basic services of schools, healthcare, roads, water supply, quality power, internet connectivity, housing, sports and cultural infrastructure; a Meghalaya where every child gets the best chance in life through support from pre-natal to adolescent stage; a Meghalaya which is a national leader in green interventions like payment for eco-system services and accessing carbon markets; a Meghalaya where women are equal participants in economic life; a Meghalaya where youth are skilled and entrepreneurial opportunities abound; a Meghalaya with vibrant urban centres; in short- a Magnificent Meghalaya.”
Stating that India is on the verge of becoming the world’s third largest economy and grow to a size of 5 trillion US Dollar in the next five years, Sangma said in resonance with that prediction, the Government of Meghalaya has set a target of making the State a 10 billion US Dollar economy by 2028, thereby doubling our GDP.
Thanking the 38 lakh people of the State for reposing their faith in his government, the chief minister also declared that the period of 2023-2028 as a watershed period and said, “Together, we will consolidate the good work of the last five years, and redouble our efforts to build a model hill State in governance, ease of living and citizen happiness- a Magnificent Meghalaya.”
Sangma also claimed that over 165 young Meghalayans are entering the workforce every day and said, “It is my foremost responsibility to greet these youth with opportunities for employment and empowerment. We have set a target of creating at least 5 lakh employment opportunities in the next five years.”
Assuring that his government will continue to strengthen the primary sector of the economy comprising of Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Sericulture and Fisheries, Sangma said there is a potential to create up to 3 lakh employment opportunities in the primary sector alone.
The high value products of the State like Lakadong Turmeric, Khasi Mandarin and Pineapples are now being exported to overseas markets of Europe and Middle East. Pineapples from Meghalaya have been put on shelves in international malls at Abu Dhabi and Kuwait and closer home at Reliance Fresh outlets across Assam.
Another crop where we have successfully intervened is potato. The government has partnered with the International Potato Center in Peru for the last two years with the objective of making the state self-sufficient in potato seed production. The technology for production of low-cost apical root cuttings is now established in farmers’ fields. With this intervention, we will be able to provide high-quality, disease-free seeds to all the 50,000 potato farmers of the State. In the coming years, Meghalaya will become the region’s leader in potato seed production, thus creating a revolutionary impact in one of our primary crops.
In addition to traditional crops, we are introducing new crops like cinnamon, cocoa, lavender, vanilla, saffron and buckwheat at scale. This will increase farmers income by taking advantage of the diverse agro-climatic zones that our State is blessed with.
He said programs like the Piggery Mission, Aquaculture Mission and Milk Mission have been successful. Under the Piggery Mission alone, support has been provided to about 7,000 breeding and fattening units spread over 362 cooperative societies.
“While our programs have substantially increased meat production, the State still has a shortage of 9,000 metric tonnes of pork, 6,000 metric tonnes of chicken, 16,000 metric tonnes of beef and 20,000 metric tonnes of fish,” Sangma said while informing that the government is finalizing a comprehensive blueprint for making the state self-sufficient in meat and fish production. This will create employment opportunities, improve nutrition and contribute to economic growth.
He said that the State’s flagship program for supporting farmers, livestock rearers, fish farmers and weavers – FOCUS – will benefit all the 6.5 lakh rural households.
The program, so far, has supported more than 3.5 lakh farming households organized into 18,000 producer groups. The government provided about 176 crore support to producer groups and individuals over the last two years.
He said that another hugely successful initiative of his government is the women Self Help Group movement.
“We now have more than 44,000 SHG groups, compared to less than 6,000 in 2018,” the CM said while assuring that the government will further strengthen the SHGs and village organizations and empower the 4 lakh women who are part of this collective.
Terming the tourism sector as the second large scale employment generator, the chief minister said, “Our goal is to transform Meghalaya into India’s most preferred tourist destination. We now have one of the most attractive Homestay Schemes in the country, providing a subsidy of up to 7 lakh rupees per homestay. About 300 homestays were sanctioned
in the last year.” He announced that the government is targeting to build another 2,000 homestays in the next five years.
He informed that the Government will also build new infrastructure like large accommodation units, experiential centres, amusement parks and viewing galleries in about 100 new villages to expand tourism beyond the established clusters.
Further, the chief minister said for Shillong city, a plan for redevelopment of about 100 acres of government land for expanding roads, footpaths, building green spaces, markets, parking lots and Effluent Treatment Plants is being finalised.
He also informed that the Master planning for the New Shillong City at Umsawli and Mawdiangdiang is ongoing.
“We expect to start first phase of the construction including the new secretariat building, a unity mall and sports infrastructure in the next 6 months.”
He said that the planning for building the Mini Secretariat complex at Tura has started and the construction will begin soon. “All these interventions will increase the overall ease of living for the urban residents and lead to a boom in the services sector,” he added.
The chief minister said that border trade is an important component of the state’s aspiration to double the economy to USD 10 billion.
“We are working with government of India to strengthen the border infrastructure including border haats, Land Customs Stations and Integrated Check Points. The government is also engaging with various stakeholders including business and multilaterals to promote regional economic integration and connectivity,” he said.
Also informing that the construction of the Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge has already started, he said that the proposal for a strategic road connecting Mahendraganj in Meghalaya and Hilli in West Bengal via Bangladesh is under consideration.
Meanwhile, the chief minister informed that his government is working on comprehensive policies for industrial development and for promoting IT and IT enables services. He said, “The new industrial policy will incentivise employment generating, and sustainability-focussed industries.”
He further informed that the first phase of the Shillong Technology Park has created employment for 1,500 youth adding “We expect to create another 2,500 jobs in the next two years with the completion of the second phase of the Tech Park.”
The planning for the construction of a tech and knowledge park at Tura is in an advance stage.
He said that the government is also targeting to skill about 1.5 lakh people in the next five years making Meghalaya a national leader in skill development.
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