SHILLONG: Meghalaya, which will celebrate 47 years of statehood on Monday, has taken gigantic strides to achieve what it has today but problems like joblessness and poor economic growth persist.
The Shillong Times spoke to people from all walks of life and sought their opinion on what Meghalaya could have achieved in the last 47 years and what future is in store for the hilly state.
Former Home Minister RG Lyngdoh said the state has improved in road connectivity, water distribution, health facilities, internet and mobile communication, education, sports and tourism. “But the state has lost out on public transportation, especially in urban areas where traffic snarls are worse. Space for pedestrians has reduced,” he added.
The urban problems have become perennial with waste management, environmental degradation and chemical contamination of food getting worse, Lyngdoh complained.
“Power disruption has also increased.”
Lack of policies and commercialisation of politics are other problems.
“Development is still supply driven because the capacity of the public to understand and demand for appropriate schemes is still low. Monitoring of schemes is on output rather than impact,” he added.
Ananya S Guha, regional director of Indira Gandhi National Open University, feels that the state has to do more on education and employment fronts and empower rural schools.
“Teachers should be given incentives. The ITIs should be vigorously adopted for skills training for the youth,” he added.
East Shillong MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh, while greeting the people of the state on the 47th year of the statehood, said as the state braces for more challenges and increased expectations, the Congress will move forward with a focused energy to uphold the vision of leaders who carved this beautiful state out of Assam in 1972.
“We will champion against forces which are garnering strength by dividing our communities on the basis of religion, caste and creed. Policies and bills of the current political dispensation all intent to divide and rule us but we will fight this undemocratic onslaught unitedly with the people,” Lyngdoh said.
An environmentalist and president of the Shillong Cricket Association, Naba Bhattacarjee asserted that 47 years is a long duration of being a state of the Union.
He, however, added that unfortunately, commensurate socio-economic growth expected in almost five decades has not happened and the state has not been able to harness core sectors.
“Education and healthcare are below par while horticulture and organic farming, including food processing, must be accorded top priority,” he said.
Bhattacharjee feels the role of the government is predominant and the public should also play their part and governance has to engage with civil society while formulating action plans.
“All interventions must be need-based and not available fund-based. All must act in unison if we want our state to start accelerating towards the top by the golden jubilee year,” he said.
The former KSU leader and senior leader of United Democratic Party, Paul Lyngdoh said there is nothing much to write home and both the electorate and the elected must share the responsibility for the current state of affairs.
He too felt that the quality of the elected has nosedived to an all-time low, comprising the interests of the people who elect them in the first place.
“Tripura, with no godfather in the national capital for decades, has outpaced Meghalaya, which had the ‘blessings’ of the Gandhi Empire for over 40 years on all fronts. A state that wasted ten years to decide on locating its legislature building can’t but be a laggard in all spheres,” Lyngdoh said.
