Mukul blames dist councils for road projects’ delay

SHILLONG: Chief minister, Mukul Sangma has blamed the autonomous district councils for the delay in initiating several road projects in the state.
Talking to media persons here on Thursday, Sangma said many projects such as the 139 km-long Ranikor-Baghmara road (with an investment of Rs over 1000 crore), Wakhaji road, Chhaygaon-Nongstoin road and Mawsynrut-Boko (via Rambrai) road were stuck because of non availability of the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the district councils.
The process of land acquisition cannot move ahead without NOC from the councils.
“After breaking down the Ranikor-Baghmara route in two parts and after pressuring them, the NOC has been given but they have not given the same for other projects,” he said.
Calling for up-scaling investment in road infrastructure, Sangma slammed BJP for targeting the government over timber bridges in the state. “How many timber bridges were there and how many are there now not only in the state but in the country. You have to go by statistics,” he said.
Meanwhile, with regard to the fact that Meghalaya is lagging behind as far as implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana is concerned, Sangma said the state is catching up with the rest of the country and it is almost there.
The state government has also urged the Centre to connect villages with a population of 100 under PMGSY, since at present, villages having a population of 250 are being connected with roads under the scheme.
“We have told them to bring it down to at least 100 since many villages in our state have a double-digit population and it is in the offing,” he said.