Pandemic stalls devp schemes in Meghalaya

SHILLONG, Nov 17: Shillong Lok Sabha MP, Vincent Pala is finding it tough to follow up on the central schemes and programmes due to logistical issues which have cropped up in the national capital in view of the COVID-19 situation.
Speaking to The Shillong Times over phone on Tuesday, the MP said that he has followed up on several schemes and projects but the situation is such in New Delhi that files are not moving in most of the Ministries owing to the pandemic.
“Ministers in New Delhi are reluctant to meet people and things are not like before,” he said while expressing apprehension that the situation may prolong for some more time in the national capital.
In addition, several Ministries have stated that they don’t have enough funds to sanction substantial schemes and projects for the states. Pala added.
He however said that he wants to follow up on the proposal of setting up of few more Land Customs Stations (LCS) in South West Khasi Hills, East Jaintia Hills and even Balat.
It may be mentioned that some years ago, the Union Government had sanctioned a proposal to upgrade the LCS in Dawki but the project has been stalled due to local issues.
Pala added that he also wanted a proposal to go through the Ministry of Textiles but the proposal could not be followed up due to the current pandemic.
It may be mentioned that Delhi has crossed the peak of the third wave of COVID-19 infections. The number of Covid-19 cases started soaring about three weeks ago, with the highest number of single-day cases so far — 8,593 — being recorded on November 11. Delhi reported 3,235 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Diwali as per the bulletin released by the Health Ministry.