By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Feb 25: Trinamool Congress MLA Miani D Shira on Wednesday said the state Budget appeared ambitious and promising at first glance, but critical gaps in administration, infrastructure and service delivery remain unaddressed.
Participating in a discussion on the Budget in the Assembly, Shira pointed to “deficiencies” in the functioning of newly created offices and district-level institutions. She said despite certain offices being completed, many are yet to function effectively.
Citing South West Garo Hills as an example, she noted that even after more than a decade of its creation as a district, departments such as PWD and PHED are still drawing salaries from the Tura treasury.
She said the office of Assistant Registrar, Cooperation Department, continues to operate from Tura, placing an administrative burden on a single office catering to multiple districts.
Acknowledging that many cooperative societies have been registered, she said that the lack of adequate officers is preventing them from functioning at full capacity.
On infrastructure, the Ampati MLA raised concerns over the quality of roads across the state. She said there have been repeated complaints from the public that newly constructed roads last only one season before being washed away during the monsoon. She urged the government to ensure better quality control and durability in road construction.
Referring to the Meghalaya Integrated Transport Project, she appealed to the government to prioritise construction of roads in interior villages where horticulture and agricultural plantations are located.
She said poor road conditions in such areas hamper transportation of produce and directly affect farmers’ livelihoods. She also stressed the need to maintain not only state highways connecting headquarters of districts but also internal roads.
Shira called for early completion of key inter-state and inter-district roads, including the Betasing road in her constituency. A portion of the road was damaged by a landslide.
Raising environmental concerns, she said that the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board must function more effectively. She called for strengthening the board with additional regional offices. Further, she said the board is understaffed and faces challenges in tackling illegal mining and industrial violations.
She pointed to growing pollution of water bodies due to indiscriminate dumping of garbage, particularly during market days, and called for stricter regulations and improved waste management infrastructure.
On digital connectivity, Shira said several areas in her constituency lack reliable mobile network coverage, adding that poor connectivity undermines efforts toward digital governance, online grievance redressal and IT-driven services.
She referred to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme, stating that many villagers depend on it and that delays in payments to suppliers and implementation bottlenecks affect developmental works. She called for greater clarity and flexibility in convergence of schemes to ensure that rural development projects are not held back.
The MLA expressed concern over the gradual loss of indigenous crop varieties. While the state promotes high-yield varieties, she said there is insufficient focus on protecting and researching local produce such as Lakadong turmeric, oranges and pineapples.
She urged the government to set aside specific funds for research and development of indigenous crops, stating that these niche products hold strong market potential and are integral to the state’s identity.
