The Garo Hills have long been relegated to the background and it would be fair to say that this region of Meghalaya has been neglected, more so South Garo Hills which remained in the same state of under-development long after it became a district. It is important for every part of Meghalaya to develop at the same pace. What has happened however is that the distant villages and border areas in particular have languished in obscurity even while all the development projects are capital-centric with some funds flowing towards development of the district headquarters but very little resources being invested in the villages beyond the townships.
As pointed out by people of Garo Hills, it takes a whole day for someone from the periphery of Garo Hills to travel to Shillong on some government work. This often necessitates an overnight stay in Shillong which adds to the expenses. It’s high time that departments open up facilities for people from different districts to access services from the district headquarters. Taking governance closer to the people is a much-touted phrase but has it happened? Meghalaya touched half a century in 2022 but governance is still distant from people. Forget about participatory governance where people themselves decide the development priority in their districts. It is in this respect that a winter capital in Tura where the winter session of the legislative assembly can also be held would be a great step in bridging the divide between the legislators from the Khasi-Jaintia Hills and the people of Garo Hills. Only when the legislators from one region travel to another region will they be able to understand the development backlogs in that region. The fact is that most of the 36 legislators from Khasi-Jaintia Hills have not visited Garo Hills and do not understand the plight of people there.
The reverse is also true in that most MLAs of Garo Hills have not visited the rural hamlets of Khasi-Jaintia Hills. There is an unspoken divide between the tribes which has not been addressed. If the Garo ministers and MLAs spent more time in the Khasi—Jaintia hills and the Khasi-Jaintia MLAs in Garo Hills it would have eased the divide. In rural Meghalaya, irrespective of the region, there is stark poverty, illiteracy, high school drop-out rates, malnutrition and poor health outcomes. These can be addressed by taking governance closer to the people. What Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma is doing by way of the CM Connect initiative is to connect directly with people in rural Meghalaya so as to find out the development deficits they face. Since most or all MLAs live in Shillong and only visit their constituencies as chief guests for functions but never to listen to their voters and non-voters alike, the development deficit is staggering. There are villages without water supply for decades. These are beginning to surface only now. If the winter capital shifts to Tura, there should be no heartburn. Subsequently all regions will be adequately served if the CM meets the needs of the rural populace.
