Ending ‘special category’ status
SHILLONG: Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma said that he fully agrees with the Raghuram Report submitted to Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram which considered Meghalaya to be one of the backward States in the country.
“If it is not true then why are our boys and youths joining militant outfits? We are trying to make positive strides but are already late,” Dr Sangma said while addressing newsmen on Friday.
He said that when they place Meghalaya before the Planning Commission in respect to the current five year plan of the State, he added that Meghalaya needs to grow at a higher pace, at 11 per cent growth rate in order to be able to catch up with other parts of the country.
“We are candid in saying that we are behind. We are much behind despite having the potentialities and strength among the people. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all of us to create that enabling environment so that at the end of the day, people will stand to gain,” Dr Sangma said.
Chief Minister said, “The State needs to catch up with the rest of the country let alone the world. We have many things left to do.”
Stating that Meghalaya should be a destination for everything which would open up hundreds of new opportunities for our youths, he said intent should be like that, therefore, every individual or groups who represent various pressure groups, their objective must be to safeguard the future from unpleasant situations.