‘Politics’ behind incomplete road projects: Mukul

SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Friday said in the Assembly that there is political posturing on the road project in West Khasi Hills, compelling people to believe that the Central road project was meant for uranium mining, which is devoid of truth.
Summing up the general discussion on the Budget, the chief minister said as far as the Mawthabah road project is concerned, the Union Ministry of Road Transport (MoRT) had split the project into three packages as the estimated cost was coming to a whopping Rs 1000 crore.
“The ministry sanctioned the amount in three packages. But following the sanction, there was hue and cry raised by certain sections who alleged that the construction of the road was to facilitate uranium mining,” the chief minister said. With the sanctioning of funds by the Centre, there is a need to upgrade national highways for the people to feel safe and secure in the State, the chief minister said. “However, we are often compelled to delay the projects due to hurdles in land acquisition process,” he lamented.
While commenting on the revenue receipts of the State, he said, “There is a substantial reduction in the revenue of the State and it has affected our efforts to funnel         investment.” However, despite the economic constraint, the State is on a growth momentum, he added.
The chief minister also pushed for wise spending of resources by various government departments besides prioritizing the areas that need attention as an exercise to avoid avoidable expenditure.
“There is a need to spend more on programmes to create durable assets, to funnel investments and create actual opportunity for the people thereby generating employment,” he added.
Certain sectors need key attention include the road connectivity, agricultural and allied services, he observed.
Commenting on the security scenario in the State, he said, “Internal security apparatus of the State needs to be strengthened with the up gradation of police outposts and creation of new police outposts. We must ensure a secure environment for the contractors and builders so that they do not have to suffer losses due to cost and time over run due to the delay in the implementation of projects.”
The chief minister rooted for ‘brand building’ of Meghalaya to enable the State to compete for ‘Destination Meghalaya’ and to look at creating sustainable livelihood in the rural areas and improve sectors which include education, health, tourism and others.
He observed that it is mandatory to reorganize village blocks, and said, “The government proposes to create four civil sub-divisions, but the government needs to further look at much more government establishments for effective delivery of programmes.”
“We still need more C&RD blocks but we also have to look at people’s aspirations,” he added.
The chief minister pointed out that Chokpot, Mawshynrut and other border areas are outside the well administered areas, but the government was committed to examine the demands to bring administration close to the people.