SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said on Tuesday that the government in the past one year has faced several challenges, but has tried to overcome these while asserting that a lot of emphasis is being laid on education, road and health sectors.
“The funding for road sector has gone up and we are also taking up many programmes in agriculture and for livelihood,” he said on the eve of the government completing a year in office on Wednesday. He also said the government is focusing on the food processing sector.
The chief minister said the government is also keen to resolve the long pending border dispute with Assam.
According to Sangma, though there is tension along the border areas, the government wants to ensure peace and is in touch with Assam in this regard.
As for the issue of coal mining, he said that the government has filed an appeal against the NGT ban, which was not done in the past and the court has given a timeframe to the Centre to make its stand clear on different issues and concerns of the state government.
“We have asked the Union government to consider exemption of certain provisions which go against traditional laws,” he said while making it clear that the government is not seeking any exemption as far as environment and mining safety laws are concerned.
On the other hand, UDP chief Donkupar Roy said majority of the people agree that the government is doing well and is trying its best to focus on important sectors like road, education and health.
“One year is too short a time to assess the achievements, but I think we are going in the right direction,” he said. HSPDP MLA Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar also appreciated the government for its performance while hoping it would resolve the long pending boundary dispute with Assam once and for all.
Independent MLA and chairman of the State Planning Board Lambor Malngiang also said that the state government has taken up a lot of important projects and wants to fulfill the expectations of the people.
