By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 13: The Meghalaya Cabinet has cleared a new initiative under the Chief Minister’s Regional Connectivity Scheme 2025 to strengthen regional transport infrastructure across the state.
Cabinet Minister and MDA spokesperson Paul Lyngdoh announced that 90 buses will be introduced under the scheme to connect district headquarters with block and regional headquarters.
The project, he said, will focus on key commuter timings. “One of the priorities of the scheme is to ensure that these buses reach the district headquarters by 9:30 am and depart by 5:30 pm to cater to the demand from officegoers, students, patients visiting hospitals, and people travelling to markets.”
Lyngdoh said the government will contribute a significant portion towards the cost of each vehicle.
“The financial support will come up to 50% of the total cost of the vehicle. There will be government contribution of 35% for on road costs as down payment. The beneficiary will contribute 5% of the down payment and the loan financing will come to 60%, which is repayable over five years for the beneficiary,” he explained.
The state has already mapped specific routes to improve connectivity. “We have also identified the routes which will cover various block headquarters, district headquarters, and regional headquarters. This is a major initiative and we are confident that it will take care of the huge deficit that we have currently, and enhance regional mobility.”
Underscoring the goal of reducing the gap in rural transport access, Lyngdoh said, “The entire plan is to upscale regional connectivity and mobility. A lot of block headquarters do not have the facility of such buses, dedicated buses, whereby, as I mentioned, the 9:30 am is supposed to be the time when there is a rush of officegoers and 5:30 pm when they leave offices. This is a major gap in the transport sector as of date, and with the introduction of this fresh fleet of 90 buses, we are confident that we will be able to fill in this gap.”
Asked if this move is intended to reduce reliance on personal vehicles, the Minister said, “Yes, as you correctly mentioned, this will also help us to encourage bus services, which will then have the effect of the overall impact of traffic congestion along the roads.”
Alongside the transport push, the government is planning complementary tourism ventures.
“Mainly we will bring in 5-star hotels and lake cruise services within the next one year. We will also be looking at more accommodation facilities, which are of three-to-four-star category. We will draw a map whereby we will optimally use this huge tract of land,” Lyngdoh said.
Entrepreneurship is a central component of the scheme. “We are encouraging entrepreneurs. First priority will be private entrepreneurs. Second will be SHGs.”
On concerns about past public transport failures, Lyngdoh clarified, “Well, precisely, because of that experience, for which this government has no link at all, but through the experience of the MTC running those buses and they were becoming liabilities in a record time. We now have learned that it would be wiser to encourage private entrepreneurship. They are better, more hardworking, and also their payment record, track records are far better.”
On whether the new scheme will replace the existing red buses, he replied in the negative. “This is an entirely different scheme. This is supposed to enhance mobility and connectivity with various district headquarters and block headquarters, which is something that is absent at the moment,” he said.
He confirmed that eco-friendly options will be considered. “We will encourage EVs (electric vehicles) to the best extent possible, but those are matters of detail which the Transport Department will work out after today’s clearance by the cabinet. These are not government buses. These are buses run by private entrepreneurs.”