SHILLONG, Dec 31: Every political party in poll-bound Meghalaya is promising to outdo the kind of development the state witnessed in 2022.
This year, the MDA government inaugurated a few important projects in Shillong but the city is still far from becoming ‘smart’ due to the lack of several amenities found in several cities across the country.
The government managed to complete some much-delayed projects such as Taj Vivanta, the state’s first five-star hotel, in the heart of the state capital. New Shillong Township got SICPAC, the international centre for performing arts and the Information Technology Park where a few IT companies have started operating from. But the wait for Meghalaya’s permanent Assembly building got longer after its dome collapsed in May.
The year was better for the power sector with virtually no load-shedding. Although no new projects were inaugurated, the Ganol hydropower project is nearing completion and is expected to improve the power scenario.
In a significant push for dams, the state government signed a memorandum of agreement for the 50 MW Wah Umiam Stage-I and 100 MW Wah Umiam Stage-II hydroelectric projects with NEEPCO.
Meghalaya did not see much progress in surface communication as no major roads were inaugurated while Shillong’s traffic woes kept worsening for the lack of road widening. The Shillong-Dawki Road has been caught in a land acquisition issue while the Western Bypass remains a distant dream. The other important road projects beyond Shillong have not progressed.
In terms of connectivity, the Meghalaya Transport Corporation (MTC) faltered in providing a better inter-state bus service. The MTC operates very few buses on the Shillong-Tura and Shillong-Silchar sections and that too in the evening, prompting some leading YouTubers to pan its service.
If that were not enough, passengers continued to suffer due to the unregulated taxi service between the city and the Inter-State Bus Terminus at Mawiong.
Shillong’s hope of being placed on India’s railway map faded with the MDA government bowing to the pressure groups to bin a broad-gauge project for now.
The Shillong Airport at Umroi connects the capital to Aizawl, Dibrugarh, Kolkata and Silchar but the lack of flights to and from the metros such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai has taken the sheen out of flying. A drawback for the airport is its runway length which allows only ATRs to operate.
The year saw the Meghalaya government go on a block inauguration spree, apparently to take administration closer to the people.
Jengjal in West Garo Hills sported a new drone station to deliver healthcare service closer to people in remote areas. But the people continued to depend on private hospitals as the plan to set up the state’s first medical college and hospital did not materialise.
After being pulled up by the High Court of Meghalaya on several occasions, the cancer wing at the Shillong Civil Hospital was inaugurated recently.
On the education front, the government inaugurated quite a number of upgraded schools but there are still many schools, especially in the Garo Hills in dilapidated condition, crying for immediate attention.
In the sports sector, the government was able to inaugurate the PA Sangma Integrated Sports Complex in Tura while the JN Stadium in Shillong is being upgraded. The state-of-the-art Wahiajer Multi-Sports Complex in West Jaintia Hills is also being constructed but a stadium for cricket – a sport Meghalaya is getting better at – continues to elude the state.
The government also initiated the State Talent Identification Programme to identify and train raw grassroots talents in the fields of instrumental music to contemporary songs, theatre, body sport, visual arts and wood carving. A total of 348 talents were identified and the best 36 among them were awarded.
