Shillong, January 26: On this Day, in the year 1950 we gave unto ourselves the Constitution that declared India to be a Sovereign Democratic Republic. The Constitution of India which provides us a vibrant democracy also ensures all of us religious freedom, economic freedom and equality of gender. Mahatma Gandhi, our Father of the Nation, not only led the freedom struggle but also guided all other freedom fighters such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore and many others with his philosophy which culminated to become the guiding principle while framing the Constitution.
We, as the citizens of this great nation are all beneficiaries of the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi which has positioned our nation to be modern and one of the fastest growing economy today. It is, therefore, an occasion when we remember and recollect with gratitude the vision, foresight and statesmanship with which our founding fathers framed the Constitution that led to the birth of the world’s largest democratic republic and that has held such a vast and diverse country together. Let us on this day also pay homage to all the freedom fighters who fought for our country’s independence, and let us remember, with reverence, Meghalaya’s own patriots namely U Tirot Sing, U Kiang Nangbah and Pa Togan N. Sangma and many other unsung heroes.
A resilient, hardworking and peace loving population has always been the strength of great nations. People of our beautiful State have always abided by these values. The peaceful statehood movement which culminated into creation of this beautiful state of ours stands as a testimony of the collective faith of our people on the power of peace and democracy. A peaceful democratic movement is the strongest weapon available to the people to resolve issues in a democracy. Violence can never be an option for providing solution to grievances, whether genuine or perceived. On this solemn occasion, I earnestly appeal to all the citizens of the State to hold steadfastly to the ideals of democracy, as we move forward to realize our developmental goals.
To generate the momentum of growth and development in the state, a comprehensive measures are being put in place. To this end we are committed to complete the process of administrative reforms which includes the complete separation of the Judiciary from the Executive. Effective and expeditious trials and disposal of cases are the key to creating a strong deterrence to all the law breakers and the criminals who tend to get emboldened whenever there is delay in conviction due to slow process of investigation and framing of charge sheet by the Police. Our recent initiatives on Police reforms are part of the administrative reforms. A number of legislative measures such as Meghalaya Special Court Act, 2014; Meghalaya Lokayukta Act,2014; Meghalaya (Benami Transaction Prohibition) Act, 1980 as amended by Act in 2016, among others will set a new bench mark for achieving an effective, efficient and accountable governance.
The Law and Order situation in the State is being dealt with firmly. Major festivals were celebrated with pomp and grandeur and without any untoward incidents. Since the last ten months, the overall internal security situation has significantly improved in the State. In the Garo Hills region however, which is affected by militancy, there are still some concerns. Some militant groups operating in the area have been indulging in various crimes such as extortion, kidnapping and dacoity. Despite facing serious constraints of difficult terrain and poor communication infrastructure, the State Police and Central forces have been carrying out the counter insurgency operations against the militants vigorously.
This hassled to large a number of arrests and surrender of militant cadres as well as recovery of huge cache of arms and ammunition. The Government’s recent approach to facilitate cadres of different militant organizations to withdraw from their respective illegal and anti-national organizations and take advantage of government rehabilitation package and assimilate in the national mainstream by involving the Church and community leaders with the aid of the District Administration and Police have resulted in a surrender of a large number of cadres of various militant groups.
The State Government is sincerely committed to fight against the menace of corruption. The agenda to fight against corruption must be a shared agenda of each one of us. Fight against corruption needs measures comprehensive enough to insulate the system from its vulnerability to corruption. Number of legislative measures have been taken by both Union Government in the past and the State Government to equip our people with appropriate weapons to fight against corruption. The Government has recently constituted a search Committee for the purpose of recommending a panel of names of persons for appointment as the Chairperson and the members of the Lokayukta. The Meghalaya State Human Rights Commission was constituted on 7th June, 2016.
As part of our commitment to bring the administration closer to the people and address the concern of developmental disparities, preparation for establishment of four new Civil Sub-Divisions, six new C&RD Blocks and eighteen new Police Stations are in progress.
The concern of illegal immigration and influx due to long international border with Bangladesh and the long Inter-State border with Assam is being dealt with by adopting comprehensive measures. Besides the recent legislatives measures among others, establishment of the facilitation centers at the entry and exit points along Inter-State Border are being followed up with utmost priority.
With the formation of the new Government of Assam, the resumption of dialogue at the highest political and executive level is being earnestly attempted to resolve the long pending Inter-State dispute with Assam pertaining to the areas of difference. While measures to expeditiously deal and resolve at officer’s level all sporadic and isolated conflicts in the areas of difference including areas falling under Block I and Block II have been put in place, new developmental initiatives in the name of special Inter-State Border Areas Development Programme is being implemented to address the developmental gaps.
Meghalaya shares an International Border of more than 443 Kms with Bangladesh. Fencing along the International Border is being erected. In certain pockets, fencing work is still pending. The Government is committed to complete the border fencing at a fast pace. The situation on the international border with Bangladesh remained peaceful.
