SHILLONG, Dec 22: Senior Congress leader and KHADC MDC, Ronnie V Lyngdoh, on Tuesday asked the state government not to depend on the Central government for funds all the time but focus on sectors, including tourism, which can create huge revenues.
“We cannot depend on the Centre all the time. The state has huge potentials in the tourism sector to generate revenues,” Lyngdoh told The Shillong Times.
Lyngdoh said if a tiny state like Goa can generate huge revenues from the tourism sector, there is no reason why Meghalaya cannot.
“We need a whole-hearted effort and a proper policy. We also need to engage people as stakeholders,” he said, adding “If Meghalaya can generate sufficient revenues, it will not need to approach the Centre for funds all the time. With its own resources, the state can build roads, hospitals and other infrastructure.”
Earlier, he slammed the state government for allegedly ignoring the problem of growing unemployment. He had lamented that the government was not creating enough employment opportunities for the youth of the state.
He recalled that the previous government had come up with the idea of setting up engineering colleges in the state but it was not materialised by the present government.
Further, Lyngdoh recalled that the previous government had tackled homegrown insurgency by creating SF-10 which led to the elimination of the problem and generation of employment for 2,000 youth.
The Congress leader asked the government to address the problem of unemployment at the earliest.
