Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 457/22

CM INAUGURATES DALU CIVIL SUB DIVISION IN WEST GARO HILLS

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma today inaugurated the Dalu Civil Sub Division in presence of MLA Brening A Sangma fulfilling the long awaited demand of the people of this region.

It is a red letter day for the people of Dalu. This day will be etched in the memories of the people for ages to come. It is a culmination of a long cherished dream of our people living in this area, the Chief Minister said, recollecting his late father Purno Agitok Sangma, who did his early education from a missionary school in Dalu. The Chief Minister told the gathering that late Purno Sangma had a close affinity for the people of Dalu and would always express his concerns and his desire to better their lives.

Late Purno Sangma had the desire to initiate various developmental works. However, due to unavoidable circumstances this could not be completed. One of his desires was to have a Civil Sub Division at Dalu. I am very happy that we could inaugurate the Civil Sub Division at Dalu which has been a long cherished dream of the people of this region, the Chief Minister said.

Informing the gathering on the challenges the Government had to deal with in view of the Covid pandemic, the Chief Minister said, we had several challenges to initiate development in the last 4.5 year but despite the challenges we have worked hard to get the momentum going to bring changes in the lives of our people. Our Government has been working with a concerted effort to bring development for the people. Our intervention in different sectors, be it education, health or sports, is testimony of our commitment to the people to better their lives, he added.

He told the gathering that the Government has embarked on a mission to ensure that government services are delivered and brought to the doorstep of the public. The creation of new blocks and civil sub divisions across the State is to enable people to receive the benefit of the Government services in a faster and efficient manner, the Chief Minister said.

Press Release No. 458/22

PURAKHASIA C AND RD BLOCK INAUGURATED

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma inaugurated the newly created Purakhasia C and RD block at Chongnapara in South West Garo Hills district in the presence of local MLA Winnerson D Sangma, Co Chairman, State Planning Board, Ian Botham K.Sangma and host of other dignitaries and district administration officials on Thursday. Before, the creation of the Block, the people of Purakhasia area which earlier was under Dalu C and RD Block in West Garo Hills, had to face a lot of difficulties as they had to travel more than an hour to the headquarter even for minor works.

In his inaugural address, the Chief Minister said that although Meghalaya is a small state there are more than 6000 villages and localities making it difficult for the Government to reach all developmental works to each and every village, and therefore there is a need to create more C and RD blocks, sub divisions and administrative units so as to bring administration closer to the public. As such, the Government is working hard to create more new blocks in different parts of the state according to the needs of the area, he added. He assured that with the creation of the new block, many developmental projects and programs will be reaching the people of the block.

Earlier, Chief Minister handed over the Governor’s Notification for creation of Purakhasia Block to the District Administration of South West Garo Hills represented by Ms. A.V.D. Shira, ADC, after it was read out by the Joint Secretary, C and RD, Ms. S.R. Marak. Later, the Chief Minister also distributed FOCUS Plus cards to beneficiaries, piglets and chicks under PROGRESS to SHGs and hybrid seeds to farmers under MeghaLAMP project funded by IFAD.

FOCUS PLUS is an extension of Meghalaya Government’s biggest program of giving financial assistance directly to the beneficiaries. The Chief Minister said FOCUS PLUS was launched to celebrate the success of FOCUS, which has benefited 4.5 lakh farmers who had formed and registered themselves as Producers Groups. Urging the farmers as well as SHGs to register for FOCUS PLUS to avail its benefits, he assured the money will be given to the beneficiaries by 5th December and again on 12th December, 2022 in a phased manner.

FOCUS PLUS is a Meghalaya specific programme and is not centrally sponsored, he added. The Chief Minister also spoke about implementation of PROGRESS and YESS programs in the state. He said YESS Meghalaya is a very unique program of the Government under which youth groups and organizations are given upto Rs.1 lakh assistance for youth specific programs and events.

Press Release No. 459/22

CM INAUGURATES PRIME HUB, COOPERATIVE SOCIETY HEAD OFFICE AT BABADAM

Meghalaya Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma, inaugurated the newly constructed Prime Hub cum Head office of the All Garo Hills Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd. at Babadam under Rongram C and RD Block in the presence of the Chief Adviser to the Chief Minister, Thomas A Sangma, Secretary of AGHMCS and the Director of Bakdil NGO, Fr. Sunny Mavellil, Rongram BDO, MR Marak, Parish Priests, Nokmas and other dignitaries on 1 December.

Inaugurating the much awaited office of the cooperative society, the chief minister recalled the tireless efforts of Fr. Sunny Mavellil, who is instrumental in forming the AGHMCS with a vision to uplift the standards of the farmers in Garo Hills region and lauded him for completing the construction within a year, the foundation stone for which was laid on 20 December last year.

Stating that there are challenges in bringing development and changes, he informed that there are potentials too in Garo Hills which need cooperative movement to be tapped thereby uplifting the economic conditions of farmers as well as the region as a whole. While talking about the commitment of the Govt. to provide necessary help, he said that the present Govt. has launched FOCUS and FOCUS Plus through which the programs and policies for the welfare of the farmers are being implemented.

The Chief Adviser to the Chief Minister, Thomas A Sangma, while speaking on the occasion said that this office of the AGHMCS is symbol of progress in Garo Hills through the cooperative societies and expected to bring a positive change in the economy of the region. He also expressed his gratitude to the chief minister and the secretary of the AGHMCS for their vision and efforts to transform the region.

Delivering the welcome address, Fr. Sunny Mavellil, informed the gathering that the Govt. had sanctioned an amount of Rs. 3.30 crores for the construction of this office and another Rs. 3.65 crores is being sanctioned to the AGHMCS for construction of different processing units for ginger, cashew, black pepper, etc. He also informed that so far 30 cooperative societies have been formed in Garo Hills.

On the day, the chief minister also distributed cheques to various producer groups of Garo Hills under the FOCUS.