NE India important in GOI’s strategic Act East vision : Conrad Sangma

Shillong, July 29: Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma said that Northeast India is positioned to serve the Government of India’s strategic vision encompassed in the Act East Policy.
While addressing the inaugural function of the 20th annual conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region here on Saturday, Sangma said that the majority of Northeast India’s trade is with Bangladesh, while its trade with other neighboring countries such as Bhutan and Myanmar mostly occur through border points located outside of the region.
“Meghalaya acts as a land bridge for India’s participation in institutional forums, including the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation and the South Asia Sub regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) programme,” Sangma said.
Leveraging upon its link with Bangladesh, he said that Meghalaya has been focusing on improving trade activities at the border areas. As part of this effort Border Infrastructure shall be improved by establishing more Integrated Check Points (ICPs) along with Land Custom Station and Border Haats.
According to him, in this direction road connectivity along the Dawki-Bholaganj Road and Tura-Dalu Road are also being improved.
“We also are establishing integrated check posts and border haats to promote economic activities,” he said.
Chief Minister informed that currently, 18 major road projects are being implemented to connect Meghalaya with other states.
Sangma also informed that they are even in process of establishing a direct link with West Bengal through Mahendraganj-hilly road adding that this will reduce a distance of 600 Kms to just 85 kms and will foster trade and commerce.
“Today with around 10,000 passengers every month, the Shillong airport is directly connected to Delhi, Kolkata, Aizawl, Agartala, Imphal, Dimapur, Dibrugarh and Guwahati. With the help of government of India, we are now taking steps to upgrade the Shillong Airport to accommodate bigger flights,” he said.
Chief Minister said that they have additionally requested the Ministry of Civil Aviation to declare the Shillong Airport as an International Airport to improve direct connectivity with countries bordering the NE States, which will greatly boost the Act East Policy.
Sangma also lauded Prime Minister and the Centre for the various strategies, policy interventions, initiatives like Gati Shakti, UDAN, infrastructure developments for the North-eastern region.
According to him, there are huge investments being made in key sectors like Tourism, infrastructure, logistics, food processing, and other which are making this region a preferred investment destination.
Meanwhile, he said that the geographical location of the region in a high seismic zone and mountainous terrain, coupled with the effects of climate change, leaves our region prone to natural disasters such as floods, landslides, cyclones, droughts, and earthquakes.
“Heavy floods, landslides, cyclone, droughts and occasional earthquakes have now become regular occurrence. These calamities are always a setback to the pace of development – something that we need to encounter with a resolute determination and an effective response mechanism,” he said.
Stressing about the need to document and study the impact of climate change, Chief Minister further suggested if they can make predictive models to understand how changing weather patterns can impact our fragile eco-systems.
“I have in the recently concluded G20 Summit on Nature Solves advocated for the setting up of a Centre for Climate Change in the State of Meghalaya. The centre can be a regional hub of excellence gathering climate data and designing strategies for the entire North Eastern Region,” he said.
Sangma said that the Meghalaya Government is coordinating with the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), Department of Space, Government of India, for an early warning alert system for cyclone, landslide, flood and lightning.
“The State Government has also decided to use Drone technology in disaster management and its mitigation. Our approach towards minimizing the effects climate change encompasses comprehensive risk assessments, early warning systems, public education, and strict infrastructure standards,” he said.