Shillong, August 27: The Chief Minister of Meghalaya Dr Mukul Sangma today submitted a memorandum to the prime minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh requesting the government of India for additional found for specific project that the state government want to implement.
The total amount that the state government required for the implementation of specific project mention by the chief minister in the memorandum submitted to the prime minister it’s amount to Rs.1500 cores.
The project that the chief minister want to get the additional found from the central government are, International Centre for Performing Arts and Culture and the cost for setting up of the project it will cost about Rs. 350 crore.
The Chief minister included in the memorandum for the construction of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Building and the cost of the new Assembly building will be Rs. 350 crore and this amount include the cost of the supporting infrastructure.
In the health sector the chief minister made a submission that Meghalaya’s health indicators are lower than the rest in the country. One of the key reasons for this is the severe shortage of specialists, medical doctors, nurses and para medical staff. Though the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) runs a Medical College, yet the intake capacity of the Institute is only 50 per academic year, of which only 9 seats are reserved for candidates from our State.
To overcome this deficit, it is proposed to set up a Government Medical College cum hospital at Tura in the Garo Hills. The establishment of the Stare Medical College will ensure the availability of much needed skilled human resources in the health service delivery system. The design of the proposed College reflects the unique needs of the State – a facility for training not only doctors and specialists but also a wide range of para medical staff.
It will also provide short skill training programmes for Doctors, Paramedics, ANMs, GNMs, etc. This is in line with the recommendations of the National Commission on Macroeconomics in Health (NCMH). An amount of 160.00 crore will be required to set up the Medical College including teaching college, hostels and staff quarters.
The others project include Integrated Ganol Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Project The estimated cost of the project is 350 crore. New Shillong Township the Government of Meghalaya has taken up the ambitious task of a new township contiguous to the existing city. It is estimated that the requirement of funds for the purpose would be Rs. 350 Crore.
As in the case of medical and para medical professionals, the North East in general and Meghalaya in particular have a severe shortage of skilled technical manpower. This results in poor project formulation, delays in project implementation, insufficient O & M and suboptimal performance. While recent efforts by Govt. of India in setting up NITs in each State will help address the problem by increasing the throughput of engineers, this is only a partial solution. What is also needed is a State Technical University which can provide a framework of activities ranging from research to short vocational courses. It is proposed to set up this University in Partnership with industry. The cost of setting up this University is estimated at 60.00 crore.
When it come to the Integrated Basin Development and Livelihood Promotion Programme the chief minister want that the central government shoud found the project 100% from the central government since the focus of the project is on livelihood promotion. In terms of socio-economic parameters, the State has been well below national averages and the gap has been widening. To arrest this trend, the State Government has taken a lot of steps and this has resulted in a far better performance during the 11th Plan period. To implement all the project mention in the memorandum the state government need the assistant of the central government.(SP News)
