Shillong, August 11: The first meeting of the Meghalaya State Council on Climate Change & Sustainable Development was held today, at the Committee Room No. I of the Yojana Bhavan, Meghalaya Secretariat, Shillong. The meeting was chaired by Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma
The meeting was attended by Shri Rowell Lyngdoh, Deputy Chief Minister, Shri Prestone Tynsong, Forest & Environment Minister, Shri A.L. Hek, Health & Family Welfare Minister, Shri Zenith Sangma, Sports &Youth Affairs Minister, Smti R. Warjri, Home Minister, Shri Clement Marak, Power Minister and Smti Ampareen Lyngdoh, Urban Affairs Minister including Shri K.S. Kropha, Chief Secretary, Shri P.S. Thangkhiew, Additional Chief Secretary, Dr. Shreeranjan, Additional Chief Secretary besides other senior officers of the State Government.
A presentation was made on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by Shri P. Sampath Kumar, Additional Development Commissioner. The SDGs have been formulated by the United Nations and adopted by the Government of India recently. The presentation highlighted the different goals and targets of the SDGs and the various initiatives taken by the State Government in this regard.
Dr. S. Ashutosh, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and the Nodal Officer for Climate Change Management in the State, made a presentation on the various aspect of Climate Change Management and its impact on the State of Meghalaya. He highlighted the measures which the State Government had taken including the formulation of the State Action Plan on Climate Change which has been approved by the Government of India.
He indicated the other studies being undertaken by the State Government which includes (i) Identification of climate vulnerability hot-spots in Meghalaya using high resolution climate projections – IIT Gandhi Nagar ( November 2015); (ii) Assessment of the impact of climate change on forests and biodiversity of Meghalaya – Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (April 2016); (iii) Carbon Footprint Study of Meghalaya – CII Godrej Green Business Center, Hyderabad (June 2015) and (iv) Impacts of Climate Change and Adaptation to It: Perception and Traditional Knowledge of the People in Rural Areas of Meghalaya.
During the course of the discussions, the Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma, stated that as a responsive State, the State Government had already taken up a number of initiatives and action plans designed to ensure Sustainable Development in the State. He stated that the Millennium Development Goals have now been converted into the Sustainable Development Goals and indicated that even before the SDGs were formally announced, the State Government had already launched a number of initiatives aimed at sustainable livelihoods.
Dr. Mukul Sangma emphasized that the ‘convergence’ is the key cornerstone to make sustainable development successful. The concept of convergence needs to be understood properly, as it is the only way we could achieve SDGs. Some of the initiatives which the State has already taken up are: – Setting up of Enterprise Facilitation Centers (EFCs) under IBDLP to promote self-employment and sustainable enterprises, Creating last mile connectivity through MGNRGS and Megha-LAMP project and also the innovative program of ‘Black topping of rural roads scheme’ initiated by the CM, It was mentioned that MGNREGS is being leveraged to encourage Village Employment Councils to create sustainable livelihoods for the bottom poor, besides organizing Women SHGs.
The State has also set up MBDA to facilitate an institutional mechanism for convergence of various development initiatives in the State and also to address critical gaps. The Meghalaya Health Insurance Scheme, operationalisation of several Public Health Centres (PHCs) under PPP, setting up of Residential Schools, Strengthening School infrastructure under ADB funded Human Capital Development Project are also unique innovations of the State in achieving the SDGs.
The Chief Minister stated that the effects of climate change are being felt all over the world and Meghalaya is also not insulated from its effects. To ensure that the efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change are successful, livelihood opportunities will have to be sustainable and resilient.
