Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Tuesday hoisted the national flag at Polo ground in Shillong and took the Rashtriya Salute of 18 Parade Contingents.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said, maintenance of Law and Order is the foundation for all economic and social activity.
He mentioned that the formal peace talks between the HNLC, Government of India and the State government are making steady progress.
In his speech, Sangma said the first phase of the construction including the new secretariat building, unity mall and sports infrastructure will start in the next six month. This will increase the overall ease of living for the urban residents and lead to a boom in the services sector.
Informing that the Master planning for the New Shillong City at Umsawli and Mawdiangdiang is ongoing, he said, “We expect to start the first phase of the construction including the new secretariat building, a unity mall and sports infrastructure in the next 6 months.”
The planning for building the Mini Secretariat complex at Tura has started and the construction will begin soon.
For Shillong city, a plan for redevelopment of about 100 acres of government land for expanding roads, footpaths, building green spaces, markets, parking lots and Effluent Treatment Plants is being finalised.
“We also introduced a shared school bus system, which should ease the challenges faced by children and parents and reduce the traffic congestion during peak hours,” the CM said.
He further added, “The construction of the Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge has already started. The proposal for a strategic road connecting Mahendraganj in Meghalaya and Hilli in West Bengal via Bangladesh is under consideration.”
Stating that the Government has the target of creating at least 5 lakh employment opportunities in the next five years, Sangma said, the government will continue to strengthen the primary sector of the economy comprising of Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Sericulture and Fisheries as there is a potential to create up to 3 lakh employment opportunities under this sector.
He further said, the second large scale employment generator is the tourism sector.
“About 300 home stays were sanctioned in the last year and the government is planning to build another 2,000 home stays in the next five years,” Sangma said.
The CM further informed that a new program of Green Villas will be launched for entrepreneurs to take up construction of sustainable and high-value tourist accommodation.
Further the Chief Minister in his speech spoke about Roads and bridges including last mile connectivity benefit all sections of the society.
“The government is working on a comprehensive plan to repair and maintain all existing roads and to convert the old Semi-Permanent Timber Bridges to Steel and RCC bridges. I am launching a new program called the Chief Minister’s Rural Connectivity Program for providing last mile connectivity to about 1,000 unconnected villages and for building bridges across rivers and streams,” he added.