SHILLONG, March 6: The Meghalaya government has agreed to examine the long-pending demand of the people of the Garo Hills to declare Tura as the winter capital of the state.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma revealed this while replying to a resolution moved by Mukul Sangma, the Leader of the Opposition, urging the House to adopt a resolution for the government to examine the demand with sincerity and empathy.
Replying to the resolution, the CM said he would constitute a committee comprising various stakeholders, including political parties, to discuss the aspects associated with the idea. He made it clear that the ruling side would not be able to support the resolution on technical grounds.
Recalling his last meeting with the NGOs in the Garo Hills over the demand, he said the government is concerned over the issue. He asserted that the government is taking steps, wherever possible, to ensure that the administration gets closer to the people to make them feel important and all-round development.
“The idea is to give a sense of belongingness to the people,” he said while announcing that the Cabinet-on-the-move programme would continue and Rs 170 crore would be spent on the Integrated Administrative complex in Tura.
Earlier, the Assembly witnessed a debate on the winter capital. While a majority of the members seemed to be in favour of the motion, they opposed the resolution due to their political affiliations.
Congress MLA Ronnie V Lyngdoh and TMC’s Charles Pyngrope were present in the House while VPP’s Ardent M Basaiawmoit and Brightstarwell Marbaniang were absent from the Assembly when the resolution was moved.
Umsning MLA Celestine Lyngdoh opposed the resolution, saying the concept of two capitals exists in bigger states like Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
“Meghalaya is a small state,” he said while adding that the notion of not receiving equitable distribution of development is a misconception. He said the details about equitable distribution can be found through an RTI application.
Stating that other states with two capitals have a much higher GSDP, Lyngdoh reminded the House that Meghalaya is the third-poorest state in the country and is at the bottom of the ranking in the Education sector.
Insisting that he is not against the idea that entails a lot of infrastructure, he said the funds for winter capital can be utilised to improve the Education and Health infrastructure.
He, however, said there is no harm in constituting a committee to examine although “Meghalaya cannot act rich” when it is a poor state.
Resubelpara legislator, Timothy D Shira said the resolution was interesting but embarrassing and gave an account of how Meghalaya achieved its Statehood through the feeling of solidarity and without any division among the Khasis, Jaintias, and Garos.
Pointing out that the idea of holding a winter session in Tura came from a Khasi leader, the senior leader sent the entire House on a laughing spree by saying that the idea of having a winter capital is good but political principles prevent him from supporting it.
“What we say today in this House will be uploaded on social media and our political future will depend on that. So, we have to be very clear and though the idea is very good, I cannot support it,” Shira said.
Rongjeng MLA, Jim M Sangma questioned Mukul Sangma for not establishing the winter capital in Tura during his tenure as the CM. The latter replied that the collective voice of the people on the aspiration was not loud and no representation was given to the government during his time.
