SHILLONG: Meghalaya Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma has stressed on the need to broaden the role of the North Eastern Council.
Addressing the 67th plenary meeting of the NEC here on Monday, Conrad Sangma said that the decline in the budget for NEC did not auger well for the region and asked the Centre to review the fund allocation to the council by raising the annual budget size to Rs 2000 crore.
Sangma also expressed unhappiness over the decision to wind up the NLCPR and replacing it with NESIDS where funding for important infrastructure was also limited.
Sangma also sought the assistance of the centre including the NEC since the year 2022 will be an important year for the state for the fact that Meghalaya will celebrate its 50th year of statehood besides hosting the National Games, 2022.
He said that the State requires a fund of Rs 1500 crore for creation of infrastructure for the National Games and the State Government had already requested the Government for special grant.
As far as Umroi Airport, he requested Centre’s cooperation to make the airport functional since quite a number of obstacles near the airport needs to be removed which will require huge funds
Asking the Centre to accept the proposal of the state to setup technology park in Shillong which will provide employment and help in making Shillong a preferred investment destination, the Chief Minister also said that the telecommunication and internet connectivity in the region needs upgradation