SHILLONG, Aug 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured the Meghalaya government that he would examine the demand for the implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state.
He also said that he would be in touch with the state government and hold a discussion with the Home Ministry on the matter.
Modi made the assurances to a Meghalaya delegation, which was led by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma and had several Cabinet ministers, during a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Sharing the details, Sangma told reporters on Wednesday that it was one of the longest meetings they ever had with the PM. He said Modi patiently listened to them as they raised various issues.
The delegation also raised the issue of Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act and explained it to the PM.
In December 2019, the Meghalaya Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on the implementation of ILP and subsequently, the government took up the matter with the Central government but there was no response until Modi’s assurance that he would examine the demand.
The state government also took up the demand for the inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and explained to Modi the reasons behind the demand.
“We mentioned to him that our children are not able to appear for certain examinations because there are languages which they do not understand,” Sangma said.
He said the PM acknowledged that these are genuine concerns but he expressed the challenges, in terms of different languages, having different scripts. However, the PM assured to examine it, the CM said.
The delegation also highlighted the Assam-Meghalaya border talks and peace talks with HNLC during the meeting with Modi.
The state government urged the PM to look into the externally-aided projects, since Meghalaya has applied more than the other states.
Sangma said the Finance Ministry made a statement that Meghalaya has applied for projects worth more than Rs 12,000 crore, which is higher than the rest of the smaller states in Northeast put together and therefore, there has to be some kind of control over Meghalaya’s proposals because it has taken more than what other small states have taken.
“We requested the honourable PM that we are performing and the reason why we are getting these projects cleared by different banks is that we have been able to implement projects properly, submit the necessary reports and hence, we should not be penalized for that,” Sangma said.
Under the externally-aided projects, 80% of the amount that comes to Meghalaya is paid back by the Centre.
