By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 28: Nearly Rs 130 crore was disbursed by the state government on Saturday under five flagship schemes, marking a major push towards grassroots development across Meghalaya.
Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, along with Agriculture Minister Timothy D. Shira and MLA Celestine Lyngdoh, addressed around 3,000 beneficiaries at the programme held at Polo Ground, Shillong.
The disbursement covered FOCUS+, GREEN Meghalaya+, LIFCOM, the Floriculture Mission and CM ELEVATE, benefiting over 27,700 individuals and 235 farmer cooperatives.
During the programme, the chief minister also inaugurated 128 MegLIFE Community Halls, 34 warehouses and four Common Facility Centres under CM ELEVATE, with a combined investment of over Rs 48 crore.
The state government stated that it has, alongside the central initiatives, introduced over 30 targeted schemes to address local challenges, benefiting more than 8 lakh citizens.
Under FOCUS+, 24,482 beneficiaries have received Rs 6.04 crore since March 4, 2026, with a unit grant of Rs 5,000 provided to one member per farm household for production-related activities.
Through GREEN Meghalaya+, 27,719 beneficiaries have received Rs 25.54 crore, taking the cumulative disbursement to over Rs 100 crore. LIFCOM has extended more than Rs 27 crore to 235 cooperatives to support grassroots enterprises and farmer collectives, while the Floriculture Mission has disbursed Rs 22 crore to 320 beneficiaries.
Under CM ELEVATE, Rs 76 lakh has been disbursed to 180 entrepreneurs to promote self-employment across the state.
The chief minister has, meanwhile, reiterated the government’s commitment to people-centric development, stating that while the state had three to four major schemes in 2018, it now runs over 30 welfare programmes reaching more than 8 lakh beneficiaries.
He added that flagship schemes including FOCUS+, CM Safe Motherhood Scheme, CM ELEVATE and the CM Scholarship Scheme have benefited 1.05 lakh farmers, 13,169 women, 3,600 entrepreneurs and 98,751 students respectively till date.
