Meghalaya Governor Phagu Chauhan said on Friday that the state government has set an ambitious target to become a US$10 billion economy by 2028, thereby doubling the state’s GDP. Addressing the first day of the budget session of the Assembly, Chauhan said the US$10 billion economy would be driven by sectors such as infrastructure, power, water supply, IT, tourism, investment promotion, and agriculture. He said interventions in sectors of health care, education, livelihood generation, social security, green, and citizen-centric governance will ensure the holistic welfare of every citizen. The governor said that the government aspires to train 1.5 lakh youth in employable skills in the next 5 years through the Skills Meghalaya program. He said recent initiatives in skilling include the training of nurses who will find employment in developed countries like Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Stating that peace and security are paramount for any developmental activity, the governor informed the House that the overall law and order situation in the state was peaceful during the previous year. Chauhan said the state envisions doubling the farmers’ income by leveraging Meghalaya’s unique agro-climatic conditions and by strengthening and innovating the value chains. “Several agro-products are being promoted through the state’s government mission mode program,” he informed the members of the House. Chauhan said a 50 percent subsidy on the unit cost of piggery, goatery, and poultry is being offered under the CM-ELEVATE program. He said the state’s production capacity for fisheries has increased by 1,139 metric tons in 2023.
Chauhan informed the House that the state government is committed to saturating the target under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (rural). So far, more than 47,000 houses have been built, including 12,410 houses built in the current fiscal year at a cost of Rs 1195. Informing the House that the state government would be extending the Anganwadi network in 1554 uncovered villages, the Governor said that 50,000 children and 9000 pregnant and nursing mothers have so far benefited through the Early Childhood Development Mission in 5,630 Anganwadi centers across the state. Moreover, he said 2,148 of the existing Anganwadi centers will be upgraded, and the government will extend the Anganwadi network to the remaining 1,554 villages that do not have a center. “Due to several interventions, the state has witnessed a 50 percent reduction in maternal deaths, particularly through the Chief Minister’s Safe Motherhood scheme. Moreover, 87 percent of eligible infants have been brought under the state’s routine immunization target,” Chauhan said. On food and civil supplies, Chauhan said, LPG connections in the state have increased to 72 percent, and another 2 lakh connections are being targeted by August 2024 under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, which would increase the LPG coverage to 95 percent.
Touching on the education sector, the governor said the government is committed to upgrading existing school infrastructure, and so far, 208 elementary, secondary, and higher secondary schools have been taken up for infrastructure upgrades in phase I. Moreover, the long-standing issue of the recruitment of government elementary school teachers has been successfully resolved recently. The 996 newly recruited teachers were handed appointment letters in programs at Tura and Shillong. On Sports and Youth Affairs, the Governor pointed out that a number of prestigious sports events were organized in Meghalaya this year, including the 5th edition of the Meghalaya Games, which took place for the first time in Tura and brought together more than 3,000 athletes who competed in 22 sporting disciplines. Chauhan said that the government is implementing the country’s largest payment for ecosystem services, called ‘Green Meghalaya’, to protect its 76 percent forest cover through a participatory approach. Under the Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, the government is providing irrigation to almost 63,00 hectares of land at a cost of Rs. 175.6 crore. “So far, 4.8 lakh households across the state have been provided with functional tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission—a coverage of 74 percent, which is above the national average, the governor said. Further, the Governor also informed 461 tourism entrepreneurs that they have benefited from the Meghalaya Tourism Homestay Scheme, under which a subsidy of 7 lakh rupees is provided for developing tourist accommodations, restaurants, and crafts emporiums.
Through the Information Technology and Communication department, the first phase of the Shillong Tech Park generated over 1,500 direct and 5,000 indirect job opportunities in the IT sector. The second phase of the Tech Park aims to create another 3,000 direct and 9,000 indirect jobs. Highlighting the development in the road and highways sector, Chauhan informed the House that so far 4,300 kilometers of roads have been built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. Moreover, during the visit of the President, Droupadi Murmu, the newly upgraded Rongjeng Mangsang Adokgre Road and the Mairang Ranigodown Azra Road were inaugurated. While in the Urban Affairs department, the governor said Shillong and its surrounding urban conglomerates have emerged as an economic growth engine for Meghalaya. To amplify this further, the government is developing a new hill city, the New Shillong Township, in two phases. On planning and state finance, the governor said the state is currently implementing multiple externally aided projects cumulatively worth about 7,500 crore rupees. An additional 4,000 crore worth of projects are at the design stage. These projects are funded by multilateral agencies. He said a total of 1,049 crore rupees was released to Meghalaya in the last financial year. Rs. 2,062 crore has been earmarked under the scheme in the current financial year for the state. “Meghalaya’s GSDP for the current financial year is projected to be 47,381 crore rupees, which is 11 percent more than the previous year,” the governor said, adding that the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors registered a growth of above 10 percent in the current year.