SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has assured that Sohra will be upgraded to a district but expressed the government’s helplessness in the face of financial constraints to fulfil the demand this year.
Speaker Donkupar Roy, who is an MLA from Shella, told a gathering at the general meeting of South East Khasi Hills District Demand Forum at Swami Vivekananda Hall, Ramakrishna Mission, Sohra on Saturday that Sohra sub-division met the required criteria to be upgraded to a district.
“I told Conrad (Sangma) I will be attending the meeting on demand for Sohra district, what do I tell the people there? He said, ‘Sir, you have committed it and what you have committed, we will do it but this year the financial position of the state is not good. We will look into it in the coming year but what you have committed, we will do it’,” Roy informed the gathering.
“Despite the fulfilment of the criteria, Sohra was not upgraded to the District level while other places got the opportunity to be upgraded to districts,” he said as he referred to Khliehriat, Ampati, Resubelpara and Mawkyrwat and blamed “lack of political will” for the delay in case of Sohra.
Stating that the demand was long pending one and not since 2012-15, Roy said it has been his personal agenda and the agenda of UDP but “I was told to wait even as Sohra fulfils the criteria”.
“Why do we have to wait? It is not a question of criteria or demand, but we are weak politically. When the government wants to upgrade, it goes ahead even without asking, there has to be political will for such a demand,” he added.
