Shillong, August 16: The chief minister of Meghalaya in his address on the 70th anniversary of our Independence sent a clear message that the challenge of law and order situation in the State is being dealt with effectively.
The State Government has taken effective measures to strengthen its internal security apparatus – resulting in better outcomes in our pursuit to restore normalcy and sustained peace for the progress and prosperity of the State.
Today we celebrate the 70th anniversary of our Independence. My greetings to you all on this day of national celebration. Today we take special pride in saluting our beloved tricolor. Let us recall with pride the great sacrifice of our freedom fighters, whose undying love for India secured us our freedom. Let us also not forget to bow our heads in memory of all those bold jawans and our brave citizens who have sacrificed their lives for the cause of our unity, integrity and progress.
The State has witnessed major successful events in the last few months. These include the 12thSouth Asian Games which was hosted jointly by our State and Assam from 5th – 16thFebruary, 2016. The 65th Plenary Session of the North Eastern Council, which was held on 26th and 27th May, 2016 and addressed by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and attended by the Governors and the Chief Ministers of the North Eastern States and the Bye-election to the 2- Tura Parliamentary Constituency was held in May, 2016 and conducted in a peaceful manner.
The challenge of law and order situation in the State is being dealt with effectively. The State Government has taken effective measures to strengthen its internal security apparatus – resulting in better outcomes in our pursuit to restore normalcy and sustained peace for the progress and prosperity of the State.
The State Government have provided an enabling environment for the members of the insurgent and the militant groups to withdraw from their criminal and anti-national activities and avail the rehabilitation package to assimilate themselves with the national mainstream.
We have launched the “safe and secured city” programme recently. This will further be implemented across the State. A new scheme for dedicated highway patrolling and citizens’ police portal for better police-citizen interface is being launched.
The resolution of long pending dispute in respect of Assam-Meghalaya border will require mutual engagement of both the State Governments to evolve a solution acceptable to the people of both the States. We have sought for mutually convenient time to resume dialogue at the level of Chief Ministers and the Chief Secretaries for effective, outcome oriented engagement in this regard.
The Indo-Bangladesh border was plagued by the issues of adverse possession and enclaves, which were irritants in our relations with our neighbour. The Protocol signed by the two Prime Ministers to settle this issue has since been ratified by the Parliament and now the process of delineating the boundary as per the India – Bangladesh Boundary Agreement has been completed. Meghalaya retains 241 acres of adversely possessed land and Bangladesh retains 41 acres of land. The removal of this irritant will pave the way for closer and stronger trade and economic ties with our neighbour and benefit our people.
On matters relating to illegal immigration and influx, the State Government, in consultation with the civil society organisations and other stakeholders has passed The Meghalaya Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016. The Meghalaya Residents’ Safety and Security Bill, 2016 is under consideration of the Select Committee of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly. In addition, locations have been identified to set up Facilitation Centres at the entry and exit points to enable the concerned authorities to put effective measures to deal with illegal infiltration. The process for acquisition of land for the purpose has been taken up in right earnest.
Recently, Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. (UCIL) issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) for open-pit mining of uranium in the State. The people of the State have serious concern on the ramification of uranium mining on health and environment. Therefore, the Government is of the view that uranium mining should not be taken up till such time when the people of the State are taken on board. UCIL has been requested to keep its EoI in abeyance and the permission given in 2009 for pre-mining activities on and approval for lease of the 422 hectares of land at Nongbah Jyntrin, Mawthabah has been revoked.
The State Government has taken up initiatives to put up appropriate action plan to achieve sustainable development goals. A flagship programme called the Integrated Basin Development and Livelihood Promotion Programme (IBDLP) is under implementation is the State. IBDLP is implemented through intensive collaboration among different Departments and agencies of the Government and has continued to made steady progress. It has brought about a paradigm shift in public service delivery systems by creating a citizen-centric, demand-based approach to governance by reconceptualising citizens as “partners” not “beneficiaries”. The capacity building of community partners is achieved through Enterprise Facilitation Centres (EFCs) and 39 such EFCs have been set up, one in each block of the State.
Over the last few years, the State Government had taken up a number of initiatives aimed at paving the way for ecologically sustainable economic development and inclusive growth. A number of activities and missions were initiated which inter alia include setting up of Entrepreneurship Facilitation Centres, Mission Green, Mission Organic, institutes of Natural Resources, Entrepreneurship and Governance. Actions in the realms of Climate Change Management include efforts in the direction of conservation of natural ecosystems, spring-shed development, water security and catchment protection have been taken under IBDLP. Externally Aided Projects have been mobilized to pave the way for long term investment in the strategically important aspects of sustainable development.
We are happy to see that the agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been getting the support from the global community. The SDGs have also been adopted by the Government of India and forms the transformative plan to address urgent global challenges over the next 15 years.
These goals visualize actions to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Altogether there are 17 goals and 169 targets. The main objectives of the SDGS are to bring about poverty eradication, changing unsustainable patterns of consumption & production, promote sustained & inclusive economic growth, social development and protecting & managing the natural resource base. The SDGs also underscores the global nature of climate change and calls for the widest possible cooperation by all countries with effective and appropriate international response to accelerate the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions. We have a definite advantage of starting early work on this global agenda.
