SHILLONG, Feb 15: The state government has decided to do away with single-window agency for granting approvals to investments made in the state, replacing it with the Meghalaya State Investment Promotion & Facilitation Bill (MSIPF), 2024.
The Cabinet on Thursday approved the Bill which will lead to the creation of the Investment Meghalaya Authority (IMA).
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said this was needed as the single-window agency had existed for a long time and there were many areas which needed improvement.
The state will now have a unified system whereby applications will be processed through portals. Various departments will be part of the entire process.
There will also be categorisation of investments based on the amounts of proposals. Smaller investments below Rs 1 crore will be cleared by a committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner while any investment from Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore will be cleared by another committee headed by the Chief Secretary. Any proposal of more than Rs 10 crore will be sent to the IMA authority which is headed by the Chief Minister.
According to Sangma, a system will track all investments and applications for investments. He said this will make the process of application and tracking easy and improve the overall ease of doing business in the state.
The Cabinet also decided to provide an enhanced amount to retired Chief Justices and Judges in the state as secretarial and other financial assistance. It approved a proposal for amendment to the Retired Judges Secretarial Assistance and Domestic Help Rules, 2013.
“The rules were last amended in 2016. The rules to enhance the amount were amended following a request from the judiciary,” Sangma said.
Meanwhile, Judicial Magistrates/Judicial Officers in the state would now get the allowances as per the recommendations of the Second National Judicial Pay Commission and as directed by the Supreme Court which mandates that the benefits given to Judicial Magistrates/Judicial Officers should be at par with the national level.
In addition, the Cabinet approved two ordinances – Amendment to the Captain Williamson Sangma State University Act, 2011 and the Contingency Fund of Meghalaya (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
These two bills along with MSIPF, 2024 will now be placed in the Assembly for approval.
