SHILLONG, Jan 13: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma may discuss the issue of the Centre’s delay in granting Inner Liner Permit (ILP) to the state with Union Home Minister Amit Shah when the latter visits the state tentatively on January 23 -24.
Sangma on Wednesday said Shah is likely to attend a meeting of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong.
“If his programme gets cancelled, I will visit New Delhi to take up the matter with him,” the chief minister said.
Talking about his government’s commitment to the issue, he said it passed a resolution in favour of ILP within two years of taking over power.
“We are aggressively pursuing it. We are clear in our approach as evident from the resolution passed in the Assembly. No previous government had taken such a step,” he said.
Stating that some matters, such as ILP, require a lot of discussions and lobbying in New Delhi, he said the state government is doing its best in this regard.
“We are also working hard to get Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security (Amendment) Act cleared. There is a total commitment from our side. We are aggressively taking this forward,” the chief minister said.
The Centre’s delay in granting ILP to the state has left the pressure groups restless. The Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations has decided to stage a state-wide agitation over various unresolved issues, including ILP, on January 21.
The pressure groups want all 60 legislators of the state to visit the national capital and mount pressure on the Centre to implement ILP.
The Assembly had in 2019 unanimously passed the resolution urging the Centre to grant ILP to the state. Thereafter, the chief minister held two rounds of discussions on the issue with Shah but the Centre has not yet made any commitment.
