SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said on Friday the Women’s Empowerment Scheme through Financial inclusion and Entrepreneurship and the Meghalaya State Livestock Missions were launched long ago.
The statement comes a day after it was reported that the chief minister recently directed the Finance Department to release Rs 60 crore for the two schemes to avoid model code of conduct before the Assembly elections.
Sangma said, “Should we not continue to work? The mandate for the government is for five years and constitutionally and legally, the government is bound to work and every hour and every minute is important.”
The term of the current Legislative Assembly will expire on March 6.
According to Sangma, the state government has even undertaken large-scale social mobilisation to make potential beneficiaries aware of the schemes.
“Where is the question of last-minute exercise here,” he said over the phone.
Referring to the Livestock Mission, Sangma said the scheme has helped the rural populace who are reluctant to take loans. “This is the reason why the government is harping on financial literacy,” he added.
On putting pressure on block development officers, Sangma said BDOs “already have readymade data of beneficiaries” who were entitled the seed money under the Livestock Mission.
“We have organised awareness programmes to generate interest among people and the response is overwhelming,” he added.
The chief minister also maintained that the women empowerment scheme was not new and the government was opting for convergence to achieve its goal.
