Meghalaya Govt prepares growth strategies for achieving 10 billion US dollars economy by 2028: Guv
Meghalaya government is preparing growth strategies for all sectors to achieve its ambitious target of making the State a 10 billion US dollars economy by 2028.
Addressing at the 75th Republic Day celebration in Shillong on Friday, Governor Phagu Chauhan said, “In resonance with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of transforming India into a 5 trillion US dollar economy by 2025, the Government has set the ambitious target of making Meghalaya a 10 billion US dollars economy by 2028, thereby doubling the 3 State’s GDP. To achieve this, the Government is preparing growth strategies for all sectors and is mobilizing investments.”
He said infrastructure like roads, water supply, power and IT are going to be key drivers of growth in the State.
“The Government envisions building 1,600 km of new roads, upgrading close to 6,000 km of existing roads and converting 7.5 km of timber bridges to permanent bridges over the next 5 years,” Chauhan said while adding that unconnected habitations will also be connected with all-weather roads under the CM Rural Connectivity Program.
Regarding the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) implementation, the Governor said from only 4550 functional tap connections, the state today has been able to provide clean drinking water to more than 4.7 lakh households across the state – a coverage of 73.2% which is at the national average.
“The target is to cover all 6.5 lakh rural households with tap water connections at the earliest. A detailed plan to protect about 4,000 water sources is also being made to ensure sustainability,” he added.
He said that providing uninterrupted power supply to every household in the State is among the top priorities of the Government. To that end, the Ganol Hydroelectric Project was completed in August 2023. Currently 24 new sub-stations are being constructed and 48 existing sub-stations are being renovated under the Meghalaya Power Distribution Sector Improvement Project with support from the Asian Development Bank. The Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme is also being implemented to improve the efficiency and financial sustainability of Meghalaya’s power distribution system.
Stating that Shillong currently has 40% share of the state’s GDP, the Governor said that to further expand this, the Mawdiangdiang Administrative City in New Shillong has already undergone considerable development. The new Legislative Assembly building is nearing completion and plans for building a new Secretariat Complex are being finalized. The Government is also working on plans for a new Knowledge City at Mawkhanu.
He said that a comprehensive plan is being developed to improve connectivity between Shillong and New Shillong City. As part of the plan, 3 new roads connecting Lumshyiap with 4 New Shillong, Mawpat with Umsawli and Diengpasoh with Shillong Bypass are being built.
Further, the Governor said that to make urban transformation environmentally sustainable, a fleet of 100 Electric Buses will be introduced by 2025 that will reduce fuel emissions in the cities. The process of reclaiming the Marten landfill site using advance bio-mining technology has been initiated.
He also informed that the Government is exploring possibilities of introducing regular flights between Shillong and large metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
“Plans to fully operationalize the Baljek Airport with regular flights to Shillong are also underway. Plans to provide internet connectivity to every village in the State by developing last-mile IT infrastructure is being finalized,” he added.
Moreover, the Governor said that the PRIME Program is currently supporting more than 5,500 young entrepreneurs and 210 startups. 50 startup incubation centres called PRIME Hubs are being set up to provide entrepreneurs adequate infrastructure, capacity building support and market linkages. Nine of these PRIME Hubs have already been operationalized.
He said that the Government launched the CM-Elevate program in September 2023 with the target of supporting 20,000 entrepreneurs over the next three years. Under the program individual entrepreneurs, registered and unregistered entities are provided financial support of 35% to 75% of the project cost through credit linkages with private and public sector banks. This umbrella program alone will generate about 80,000 employment opportunities in the sectors of horticulture, logistics, animal husbandry, sericulture, tourism, entertainment, and wellbeing.
To provide impetus to Meghalaya’s industrial sector, the Government is finalizing the Meghalaya Industrial & Investment Promotion Policy. Under the policy, key growth sectors like tourism & hospitability, IT & ITES, green industries, power generation, 7 logistics and food processing are being granted industry status. A lucrative package of incentives is being provided with a target of attracting about 2,000 crore rupees of investment in the next three years.
Also pointing out that the Government aspires to create a job-ready workforce by training 1.5 lakh youth over the next 5 years, the Governor said tin the past year, more than 35,000 youth have been trained in technical skills under the flagship ‘Skills Meghalaya’ program and in soft skills under the ASPIRE program. A world-class Skills & Innovation Hub will be constructed at New Shillong City. The PRIME Hubs will also function as skilling centres and provide training by engaging local training partners.
He said that betterment of the human condition forms the bedrock of the Government’s social development plan. For this, a life-cycle approach has been adopted encompassing health, child welfare, education, sports and social security services.
Claiming that significant improvements have been made in healthcare over the last few years, the Governor said that there has been a 50% drop in maternal death between 2020 and 2023 as an outcome of the Chief Minister’s Safe Motherhood Scheme. 87% of all eligible infants have been brought under the routine immunization target resulting in a 30% decrease in infant mortality.
He said that to meet the requirement of trained medical personnel, establishment of 3 medical colleges in Meghalaya has been announced. “Treatment facilities in all civil hospitals and community health centres will be upgraded with latest healthcare technology. Operationalization of the Medical Recruitment Board has resulted in filling up 47% of vacant posts in a single recruitment cycle,” he added.
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