TURA, Jan 13: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has said that the NPP-led MDA government is not doing different things but is doing things differently, as he dedicated a slew of projects in Garobadha, West Garo Hills on Friday.
The projects that were inaugurated during the day were water treatment plant of Greater Garobadha Water Supply Scheme, periodic renewal of AMPT Road under Systematic Maintenance, and upgrade of 11-km Garobadha-Selsella-Balachanda Road, including three-km AMPT road to intermediate lane.
Addressing a gathering during the inaugural programme, Conrad said that the state government, in the past five years, has constructed a number of roads across Meghalaya through externally aided projects and other schemes, which, he said, was more than the number of roads constructed in the last 20 years.
“Through these statistics, one can learn how much this government prioritises construction of roads and maximum budget from central schemes and externally aided funds have been earmarked for construction of roads. Sectors like health, business, tourism, etc., have benefitted immensely out of these road constructions,” he said.
Stating that the Garobadha-Selsella road is as important as Garobadha-Tura road, he said that even as Meghalaya attained 50 years of statehood, these roads were neglected for a very long time.
The chief minister also observed that another major problem of the area was shortage of potable water.
“Less than one per cent of households, only about 4,500 households, in Meghalaya had tap water connection. Today, Meghalaya is one of the best-performing states in tap water connection through schemes like JJM and other state schemes. Today, about three lakh households in the state have functional tap water connections,” he said.
According to the department officials, Greater Garobadha Water Supply Scheme will cater to 96 villages and 8,995 households under Rongram, Selsella, Betasing and Rerapara C&RD Blocks.
During the programme, the chief minister also observed that PHE department has become one of the most active departments as the government has unceasingly lent support by bringing schemes and projects for the department.
Stating that other departments have also been performing well with the state government’s support, Sangma laid stress on the importance of follow-up, accountability and teamwork.
Earlier, the chief minister also inspected the Water Treatment Plant of Greater Garobadha Water Supply Scheme at Megonggre village on his way to Selsella.
He also laid the foundation stone for construction of the multi-facility hall of Manchak Integrated Village Cooperative Society (IVCS) at Dengnakpara under Rerapara C&RD Block of South West Garo Hills.
Conrad informed that an amount of Rs 60 lakh has been sanctioned by the government for construction of multi-facility hall and another Rs.20 lakh for taking up ramie cultivation in the area under the guidance of Dr. Merril Sangma, former official of the Agriculture department.
