By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 3: The North Eastern Council (NEC) has disbursed Rs 9.58 crore in August to fund a range of initiatives in Meghalaya, with a focus on agriculture, education, community development, and skill training.
A major share of the allocation went into agricultural infrastructure. An amount of Rs 4.47 crore was sanctioned to develop 20 farmers’ markets at a unit cost of Rs 50 lakh, while another Rs 4.45 crore was earmarked for 10 larger farmers’ markets to be built at Rs 1 crore each. In Ri-Bhoi’s Umsning Block, the Tiwa (Lalung) community received Rs 17.19 lakh under the Community Development Programme, and West Khasi Hills’ Mawthadraishan will see a new school building constructed with funding of Rs 48.87 lakh.
Skill development featured prominently in the month’s approvals. The NEC cleared gap funding of Rs 51.17 lakh to cover residential expenses for youth undergoing training in Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics (AVGC), and IT-ITES sectors. The project, sanctioned on August 8 and to be executed by the North Eastern Region Community Resources Management Society (NERCORMS), Shillong, aims to certify about 400 young people from across the North-East.
With India’s AVGC industry projected to more than double from Rs 188 billion in 2023 to Rs 419 billion by 2027, the programme is expected to provide a crucial push to employability and entrepreneurship in the region.
Food safety and livelihoods also gained from NEC support. On August 8, the Council released the second instalment of Rs 2.33 crore for the “Establishment of Scientific Smoked Meat Production Units in North East India,” a Rs 4.84-crore project. Seventeen smoke houses will be set up across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Nagaland. Together, they are designed to produce 867 MT of dried pork each year, create 34 direct jobs, benefit around 2,000 people indirectly, and lower cancer risks by cutting carcinogen levels in smoked meat.
In addition to financial allocations, NERCORMS concluded a study last month assessing mobile and internet connectivity in rural North-East, offering data for strengthening digital networks. Two workshops were also organised in Meghalaya: one on raising awareness of conserving indigenous fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants in East Khasi Hills, funded at Rs 8 lakh, and another on Geographical Indication (GI) products and user authorisation for farmers, funded at Rs 8.85 lakh.
The NEC underlined that these initiatives reflect its sustained commitment to Meghalaya’s development by improving agricultural markets, building educational infrastructure, advancing youth skills, and promoting safer, more sustainable food practices.