By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 13: The opposition on Thursday questioned the government on states comparable to Meghalaya in terms of population and territory that have achieved a Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) exceeding 10 billion dollars.
Raising a supplementary question during the Assembly, VPP MLA Adelbert Nongrum, asked the chief minister to specify which states of similar size and population to Meghalaya had crossed the 10 billion dollar economic mark.
In response, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma stated that while he did not have the exact figures, comparable states included Nagaland, with a per capita of Rs 1,45,535, and Manipur, which stood at 40,000 GDP as per 2023 data. Meghalaya, he added, recorded a GDP of Rs 46,000, while Nagaland’s was around Rs 37,000.
Nongrum went further, citing Goa and Tripura, and sought clarification on whether these states had surpassed the Rs 10 billion economy by offering investment incentives to outside investors or focusing on strengthening their manufacturing sectors.
The chief minister responded that Goa’s per capita GDP stood at Rs 89,000 but acknowledged that while its economy was comparable in some respects, the two states were not identical.
Before Sangma could elaborate, the question hour concluded, leaving the discussion unresolved.
