By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 30: A day after the UDP sought to rake up the MDA government’s investment incentive plans, party representative in the Cabinet, Paul Lyngdoh urged various groups and organisations to suggest alternatives if they are against the implementation of the Meghalaya State Investment Promotion Facilitation Act (MSIPFA) of 2024.
The MSIPFA will allow the Invest Meghalaya Authority (IMA) to buy land and lease the same to private investors.
“It is easy to say this is not right. If they feel that the policy the government has come up with is not fine, they should suggest better alternatives,” Lyngdoh said in reaction to the opposition to the MSIPFA from several quarters.
He said the stakeholders should show a better draft than the one the government has formulated.
“I don’t think it is the right approach to just oppose without suggesting an alternative,” he said.
The tourism minister said the MSIPFA was passed by the Assembly to create land banks for development.
He welcomed the suggestion to hold consultations with all stakeholders on the MSIPFA if there is a feeling that certain aspects of the policy need to be rectified or improved upon.
“I believe in the saying that the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. We can streamline this policy and improve on it. The process to hold consultations with the various stakeholders will help,” he said.
Insisting that nothing is final, Lyngdoh said even the Constitution of India – one of the most vibrant and longest in the world – has been amended more than 100 times.
“There is no final decision in a parliamentary democracy. When it comes to lawmaking, there is no full stop, only commas,” he said.
Replying to a query, he said if one reads the MSIPFA carefully, there are provisions related to green economy and job reservation for the locals, which will increase with each passing year.
“But to think that there will be outright alienation of land is wrong. The concept is that the government will own the land and it will only lease to the corporate entities or companies,” Lyngdoh stated.
He said it is time for the local entrepreneurs to come together to form big companies.
“We have now reached a stage where our people are no longer job seekers but are job creators. Why should we not be able to find 500 or 1,000 entrepreneurs to form their own companies, and take the land on lease through this policy?” he asked.
Stating that a government agency-created land bank is not a new concept, he said the New Shillong Township Agency, MIDC, and MTDC have been purchasing land.
“Land is an asset which stays with the government. The question that the ownership of land will go to the entities from outside does not arise,” Lyngdoh said.
He cited the examples of big tourism projects where the government leased land to private investors in Sohra and Polo. “But the ownership remains with the government,” he asserted.