Ampati, July 25: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Thursday heard the concerns of an elderly woman from the Ampati area in South West Garo Hills and immediately sanctioned Rs. 2 lakh for the construction of a waiting shed. This had been promised by the Chief Minister himself during his visit to her village in Monabari in 2018.

The elderly lady stood up to raise her concern at the CM-Connect programme held at Ampati on Thursday, where she elaborated on her demand and the promise made by the Chief Minister to sanction it. Upon hearing her complaint, the Chief Minister’s team and administration quickly found out that the financial sanction was allotted for the village, but nobody collected the cheque, so the fund was refunded back to the government in 2019.

However, as immediate relief, the Chief Minister asked his team to release Rs. 2 lakh for the construction of the waiting shed in her village. She was emotionally charged, having her wish fulfilled, and thanked the Chief Minister in the presence of all the public who had gathered to voice their concerns at the CM-Connect programme held for Betasing C&RD block at Student’s Field in Ampati.

The cheque was issued in favour of Riphingkona Village Organisation.

Taking the opportunity of the platform, people from different villages voiced their concerns about the implementation of schemes, delays in construction, inadequate water supply, shortages of water tanks, lack of roads, and the non-fulfilment of promises made by the government in the past. Large number of villages raised concerns about road connectivity to their villages, load shedding, power fluctuations, etc. The officers responded to the queries by informing the Chief Minister about the shortage of manpower, which has posed problems for them in resolving certain concerns in the power department.

Hearing the grievances raised by the public, the Chief Minister said, “It is important that we as a government get first-hand information from the public. It is with this purpose that we have launched this platform to listen to the problems of our people, and discrepancies that may be there while implementing the programme, so that as a government we can take corrective steps to resolve and ensure effective public delivery of services.”

“This platform is enabling us to understand issues and take corrective measures to resolve the problems. I am extremely happy that people are coming out to speak on different problems. We are not at all angry with anyone. If we have to correct the system, we have to collaborate and work together. It is through collective actions that we can solve and do better,” he added.

For over three hours, people kept questioning the Chief Minister, to which he responded, ensuring that every concern raised was addressed and noted by the officials. He has directed officials to visit villages, understand their issues, and resolve them wherever possible. The Deputy Commissioner of the district has been asked by the Chief Minister to track the resolution of the problems that were raised and inform the Chief Minister about the redressal of the concerns.

The Chief Minister further said that the CM-Connect platform has enabled the government to understand basic problems faced by the people and take corrective steps to streamline the process. “To improve the overall development and living standards of the people, we are realizing that small interventions can make a very big difference in people’s lives. People come up with basic problems that do not require too much intervention. By streamlining the process, we will be able to improve overall governance,” he added.

Read: ACHIK group protests against “illegal” transport gate

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