By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, April 3: The state government has announced the constitution of an all-party committee consisting of recognised and registered political parties to discuss railway connectivity in Meghalaya, prompting the KSU, which has remained firm on its demand for ILP before introducing railways, to respond sharply.
According to a notification issued on Wednesday by Chief Secretary Donald P Wahlang, the committee will be chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma or any minister appointed by him. “All political parties are requested to nominate two representatives for the committee. Relevant government departments will also be invited to participate in the deliberations,” Wahlang stated.
The committee’s mandate includes examining and identifying solutions for the introduction and construction of railways in Meghalaya, as well as conducting a cost-benefit analysis of railway implementation in the state.
Additionally, the committee will gather input from all stakeholders and submit its recommendations to the state government.
The KSU on Thursday urged Governor CH Vijayashankar to first engage with the Centre on implementing ILP if he is truly concerned about the state. Only then, the KSU said, would it be open to discussions on railway expansion.
“If the Governor is so concerned about the state, he is duty-bound to push the Centre to implement the ILP first. Only after that will we talk about the railway issue,” KSU president Lambokstar Marngar stated, referring to the committee constituted by the Governor to discuss the railway project.
However, Marngar reiterated, “We will never engage in discussions on railways until the ILP is implemented. We have high expectations from both the state and central governments to act on this first, as we currently have no mechanism to control the influx of illegal immigrants.”
He further revealed that just two days ago, a group of 11 Bangladeshi nationals was detected in Umsning, which he described as an alarming situation. He also emphasised that Meghalaya has been grappling with illegal immigration for decades without a concrete mechanism to address the issue.
