Shillong, Sept 15 :Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma once again could not come clear on the government’s stand on whether it would allow or stall proposed railway project in Khasi Jaintia hills region where it has been opposed by pressure groups.
Chief Minister reiterated that the from the perspective of development, railways should come to the capital as it would improve trade, connectivity and economy but added that there are concerns from different stakeholders
“ We would like to carry everyone and no one is saying that we should shelve it off,’ he said
It may be mentioned that railways have remained a non-starter in Meghalaya even though all other hill capital cities in Northeast are on the verge of being connected through railways.
Asserting that the funds are lying for the project and if the Government is unable to move on it, the funds can be exercised in different projects.
“Different project does not mean we close the first one, and we will continue to work with the stakeholders to find a way and though the project is good for the state but there is no question of forcing it,” he said
Admitting the hurdles for the firsttrailway project (Byrnihat-Shillong), he said it was taking time to address the concerns of the pressure groups and at the same time, the Government is trying to find another region which is open to the idea of having railways.
He also said that the Ministry is perturbed by the delay but they have also understood the challenges.
“Railways is for betterment of people and we need to carry everybody along. So lets discussion and create a consensus by addressing their concerns,” he said