SHILLONG, Jan 16: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Friday defended the state government’s decision to hold the ongoing third Cabinet Retreat at Orchid Resort, Mawkasiang, describing it as a strategic exercise aimed at improving governance, enhancing inter-departmental coordination, and aligning departmental work with the state’s larger vision.
He told reporters that the Cabinet Retreat is an investment in efficient administration, providing a platform for ministers, officials, and block-level officers to come together, share ideas, and understand the functioning of other departments.
“It’s important for us to see the larger goal and perspective. Sitting here, all departments talk to each other and understand what’s happening. That is really the main outcome,” Sangma said.
Citing tangible results from previous retreats, he said that during the first Cabinet Retreat, the Education Department presented detailed data on ad-hoc schools, SSA teachers, and grant-in-aid spending, including support to nearly 4,000 private institutions—a level unmatched in the Northeast. “After looking at those numbers, every Cabinet minister and officer realised the urgency. We decided to resolve the issue in 2025, and before Christmas, we reached a conclusion,” he added.
The Chief Minister also highlighted administrative reforms that have streamlined government processes. He noted that under the Chief Minister’s Special Development Fund, file clearance times that earlier took one to two years now take just 24 hours due to reduced bureaucratic layers and the adoption of e-proposals.
Similarly, the average file movement across departments has dropped from 10-15 days to 2.7 days last year, with over 80,000 files cleared efficiently.
Sangma emphasised that the retreats aim to foster collaboration among departments whose work is closely interlinked—for example, the Public Health Engineering, Water Resources, Forest, and Mining departments, as well as the Education, Sports and Youth Affairs, and Health departments—to ensure alignment with government priorities such as women’s empowerment, youth development, and economic growth.
The Cabinet Retreat also serves as a platform for grassroots feedback, allowing block development officers and field-level staff to share practical insights that could influence state-wide programmes. “Sometimes the best ideas come from the grassroots. A small change in procedure suggested by a BDO can transform service delivery for the people,” he said.
Sangma said the retreat helps align departmental objectives with the state’s Vision 2028 and Vision 2032, which include achieving a $10 billion economy by 2028 and a $16 billion economy by 2032, while fulfilling commitments such as housing for all, a caring economy, and improved public service delivery.
Addressing criticism from opposition parties over the cost of the retreats, the Chief Minister said that any governance initiative entails expenditure but emphasised that the retreats yield measurable gains in efficiency, decision-making, and policy implementation. “The retreat is not a waste; it is about aligning forces, sharing knowledge, and ensuring that different departments work together to achieve the larger purpose of serving the people,” he said.
