SHILLONG: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has focused on the long-pending inter-state border dispute with Assam and uranium mining in its manifesto.
The 10-page election manifesto, which the party released on Thursday, resolved to solve the border dispute and assured that uranium mining would not be encouraged in the state.
NCP working president Vijay Raj, after releasing the manifesto, said the party would set up an anti-corruption vigilance commission and ensured that “at least two students from Meghalaya become IAS officers every year”.
Raj also revealed the party’s plan to formulate a mining policy for the state. He promised to implement the recommendations of the Majithia Wage Board for the benefit of local journalists.
“The party is committed to strengthening the border area by encouraging and facilitating the development through the Border Areas Development (scheme) to ensure that people living along the borders are economically empowered,” Raj said.
Among other issues which the party has focused on in the election manifesto are infiltration and encroachment by bordering states saying that the party wants to achieve this through special assistance to the border area people who will be given the opportunity to get their lands registered free of cost. The party said police stations will be set up in those places where there are border disputes.
NCP, however, played safe on the issue of inner line permit saying the party would like tourism to develop to economically empower locals.
“I don’t say we are against ILP but apart from that there are many other methods by which infiltration can be stopped, like adopting a three-tier system,” Raj said.
Stating that scientific coal mining is needed to reduce the bad impact on the environment, the party said it was committed to achieving this by putting in place a mining policy with the consent of the people to ensure that a method of scientific mining can be implemented.
The NCP said it would not impose any restriction on food habits, religious customs and culture of people.
