Shillong, Nov 29: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said state hopes to start scientific mining of coal by January next year.
Speaking to reporters, Conrad said the state government will examine the report of the Single Member Committee appointed by the Meghalaya High Court, which had suggested the need to frame guidelines for scientific mining of coal in Meghalaya.
According to the chief minister, illegal mining and transportation of coal will continue to take place due to the fact that people were suddenly asked to stop their main source of livelihood since 2014.
As far my information and my knowledge goes regarding the mining plans, whatever has been required in the past, has been done and that is the reason why we are able to clear 4-5 mining plans.
No harassment of truckers
there was a complete misconception that the state police were harassing oil tankers drivers.
According to him, the misconception arose after the state government had directed an inquiry into complaints received from petrol pumps about leakage of petrols.
Meghalaya Games
The chief minister also reviewed the upcoming Meghalaya Games set to be held in Tura.
After reviewing the preparation for the Games on Wednesday, the chief minister said, “We had a full review with the deputy commissioner online and we are ontrack for the games and we are hopeful that the games will go very well.”
He informed that the review was related to many things which include the locations of the venues for games to take place and accommodation and other factors like security, water, electricity, food, materials and others.
Shillong- Dawki road
The state government has asked the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) to immediately start repairing the dilapidated portion of the Shillong-Dawki road.
The chief minister, who reviewed the meeting said, “As you are aware some parts of the road are in pretty bad condition and hence, we have made immediate arrangement to ensure that the repair of the phase-IV or the 4th sector, which is more closer towards Dawki, that repair should start immediately.”
Housing scheme
The state government has a target to provide affordable housing to over 1.40 lakh households within the current financial year.
The chief minister said this year is an important year for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
“Just to give you a comparison in the last 4 years, the target for the State was roughly around 40,000-50,000 houses and this year alone 2023-24, we have set a target of 1.40 lakh (houses),” he told reporters.
