MDA highlight key achievements on completion of one year

The report titled – “Meghalaya on the Move- Seizing Opportunities, Surmounting Challenges and Marching Ahead”- was released by the chief minister Conrad K Sangma in presence of cabinet ministers.

“The report captures in one sentence the essence of what this government has been doing and what it intends to do in the coming years,” Sangma said in the report.

Stating that Meghalaya has the highest GSDP among the northeastern states (excluding Assam), he said the state’s GDP growth rate at 7.2 percent for 2017-18 is slightly higher than the national figure of 6.7 percent.

“We have unique strengths and opportunities to foster sustainable development and to improve the standards of living for the three million citizens of the state- a salubrious climate conducive to agri-horticulture sectors and eco-tourism, human resources, mineral resources and untapped hydroelectric potential to name a few,” he said.

“However, we also have many fundamental challenges like inadequate infrastructure, insufficient access to markets and underdeveloped private sector. Given this, the government is crafting a development strategy that builds on our strengths and takes on the challenges head on,” he added.

Sangma further informed that in the last year, significant investments have been made toward improving infrastructure, both physical and social.

He said the four-fold increase in allocations of PMGSY for improving road connectivity and the sanctions for establishment of 11 Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) with an investment of about INR 250 Crore are cases in point.

“We are also prioritizing the agri-horticulture sector with special focus on value addition and food processing. A new Directorate of food processing has been set up under the Department of Agriculture,” he said.

Also stating that improving rural livelihoods is third key priority, the chief minister said Meghalaya is today one of the top-performing states in the delivery of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

“We are also implementing externally aided projects focusing on sustainable livelihoods and market linkages. A fourth area of attention is entrepreneurship- we are working towards creating ecosystems that foster the growth of farm and household based nano and microenterprises in the areas of food processing, eco-tourism and product-specific value chain development. A crosscutting priority is to incorporate sustainability and community orientation into all the development inventions,” he said.

Accordingly, integrated natural resources resource management planning is being done in a large number of villages with the active involvement of village employment councils and other grassroots institutions.

He said the achievement of our development goals demands both greater investments and effective utilization of available funds adding “We are making all out efforts to mobilize more resources from the various central sector schemes, in addition to focusing on improving the states own revenues.”

According to him, the state has, for the very first time, been sanctioned funds under the Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Scheme by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

“Our spending on MGNREGS has reached almost 1000 crores. Systematic efforts are also being made to improve delivery of services,” he said.

The chief minister further stated that focused reviews of various development programs are being held regularly and ICT-based systems are being deployed to improve the effectiveness of governance.

“On the eve of completing one year in the government, we would like to renew our commitment to methodically strive for the overall development of the state and to improve the lives of its citizens,” Sangma said while seeking the support and collaboration of all the citizens of the state.

By Our Reporter