Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is traversing to different corners of Meghalaya to ensure that governance comes closer to the people, a one-man army can hardly achieve much when officials down the line lack commitment to carry out their basic duties. Few if any take their jobs as an article of faith to deliver governance to the last mile. There are too many things wrong with Meghalaya and these are evident in the education and health sectors. While the authorities at the state level have tried their best to bring in innovative methods in healthcare and reduction in maternal and infant deaths, the fact remains that children and women in rural Meghalaya continue to suffer from malnutrition and undernutrition and that is because poverty weighs heavily on families.
The cost of living in Meghalaya is far higher than in other states and this is a common refrain by all central government officials transferred to Meghalaya. There is a huge difference in the prices of vegetables and groceries between Shillong and Guwahati. The poor and they constitute a huge number in this state cannot afford fruit, milk, eggs and even meat for their children. Hence the sources of protein and vitamins especially vitamin C that occurs in fruits like oranges are beyond the reach of ordinary families. An orange costs between Rs 10-12 each. Bananas are expensive, not to mention apples and other fancy fruits which are out of reach of most rural families. At one time nutrition was met by the multiple crops grown in jhum fields such as green leafy vegetables, sesame seeds and corns that provide iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium among others and other root vegetables like Colocasia that are grown without any chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Now jhum fields with multiple crops are replaced by commercial farming for mono-cropping. There will be fields that grow only cabbage, cauliflower or potatoes and mostly for the market. The effect of this change in cropping patterns has not been studied as yet. Meghalaya is also lacking in data on the number of people living below poverty line (BPL) as of 2025. According to the 2011 data there are 5,54,131 BPL cards issued but the number of beneficiaries numbered 7,45, 152 persons.
The Below Poverty Line (BPL) list is created based on socio-economic criteria established by each state government. Families with an annual income below Rs 75,000 in urban areas and an annual income below Rs 60,000 are included in the BPL household records maintained by the central government. Additionally, landholding for BPL families should not exceed 1.5 acres of irrigated wet land, 2.5 acres of irrigated wet land from other sources, 3 acres of dry land used for commercial crops, or 5 acres of dry land under other crop cultivation. This specification is rather generous because in Meghalaya a BPL family of 4-5 family members is unlikely to own land or even a homestead and in the urban areas would be living in one or two roomed homes. Poverty alleviation should be the focus of the Meghalaya Government apart from creating numerous entrepreneurs. Poverty has multiple effects and education is the casualty as parents can no longer afford to send their kids to school. Addressing poverty is imperative.
