By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 10: Dadenggre MLA Rupa Marak has expressed disappointment over the exclusion of the Garo Hills region in the recent creation of new districts in Meghalaya.
Participating in the Budget discussion in the Assembly on Monday, Marak pointed out that Meghalaya has traditionally followed a pattern where, if a district is created in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills region, a corresponding district is also created in the Garo Hills. However, during the last restructuring, the state government upgraded Mairang into a full-fledged district, while no new district was allotted to Garo Hills.
Demanding that the Dadenggre Civil Subdivision be upgraded into a district at the earliest, Marak also raised concerns about several incomplete projects in his constituency.
Referring to Baljek Airport, he remarked that while people eagerly await flight operations, the only thing that “lands” there is the annual Megong Festival. “We want airplanes to land at Jengal,” he said, adding that even the Jengjal Oxygen Plant, inaugurated three years ago, remains non-functional.
“The inauguration of a project does not mean the objective has been achieved,” he stressed, lamenting that many incomplete projects have become an eyesore, turning his constituency into what seems like a “dumping ground.”
He further highlighted the lack of proper infrastructure, stating that a police station in the area is currently operating from a Forest IB, while the MePDCL office functions out of residential quarters within the Block Office complex.
“Though it is a civil subdivision, there has been no significant infrastructure development. Proper administrative offices must be constructed,” he asserted.
