Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday stressed on the importance of good law and order situation to take forward the economic and social activities in the state.
Addressing the 77th Independence Day celebrations after hoisting the national flag at the Polo ground here he said that three formal peace talks between the HNLC, Government of India and the state government are making steady progress.
The CM said Assam and Meghalaya are resolving the disputed interstate border and a historic Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Assam as a first step towards resolving the dispute. He said his government has set a target to make the state a 10 billion US dollar economy by 2028.
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"India is on the verge of becoming the world's third largest economy and growing to a size of 5 trillion US Dollar in the next five years. In resonance with that prediction, the Government of Meghalaya has set a target of making the state a 10 billion US Dollar economy by 2028, thereby doubling our GDP."
The CM said this period of 2023-28 is a watershed period for all of us, consolidating the good work in the last five years and redoubling our efforts to build a model hill state in governance, ease of living and citizen happiness- a 'Magnificent Meghalaya'. He said the state government has set a target to create five lakh employment opportunities in the next five years.
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Highlighting how agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, sericulture and fisheries have the potential to create three lakh employment opportunities, the chief minister said high-value products - Lakadong Turmeric, Khasi Mandarin and Pineapples are now being exported to overseas markets of Europe and the Middle East.
"Pineapples from Meghalaya have been put on shelves in international malls at Abu Dhabi and Kuwait and closer home at Reliance Fresh outlets across Assam," he said, crediting the success to the continuous handholding and support provided to farmers’ collectives. He also highlighted the creation of 44,000 Self-Help Groups (SHG) that helped women set up successful businesses and improve the well-being of their families and communities.
"The government will further strengthen the SHGs and village organisations and empower the 4 lakh women who are part of this collective," he said. Sangma said his government's goal is to transform Meghalaya into India's most preferred tourist destination. "We now have one of the most attractive Homestay Schemes in the country, providing a subsidy of up to 7 lakh rupees per homestay," he said, adding that 300 homestays were sanctioned in the last year and another 2,000 homestays in the next five years.
"Large accommodation units, experiential centres, amusement parks and viewing galleries in about 100 new villages to expand tourism beyond the established clusters," he said. The chief minister also said that the state government is working with the Centre to strengthen infrastructure at the Indo-Bangladesh border like border haats, Land Customs Stations and Integrated Check Points to improve trade and make it part of the initiatives to double the economy.
