Shillong, Mar 5: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today said that the MDA government has been able to achieve a reversal of fortunes for Meghalaya and its people since 2018.
Presenting the budget for the eight consecutive year, he said “We have achieved an impressive 11 percent economic growth over the last 7 years. The growth is fueled by expanding public investments due to increase in tax devolutions and State’s own revenues, leveraging Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), Externally Aided Projects (EAPs), and new schemes like the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI)”.
He informed the house that prior to 2018, Meghalaya’s economy and development indicators vis-à-vis other Northeastern and Hilly States clearly showed that the period 2010-18 was a time of crisis for State finances.
He said that the state in the past was unable to make critical investments in sectors like health, education and core infrastructure like roads, water supply and power, while the scenario has changed from 2018, when MDA took over.
“For instance, a comparative analysis of the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) of Assam and Meghalaya shows how both States had similar poverty rates at the start of the period, and how Assam reduced its multidimensionally poor population by 13%, whereas Meghalaya reduced by only 4.8%”, he added.
He also informed that despite the COVID pandemic, the state has been able to streamline State finances, improve governance, strengthen service delivery, protect the rights of the indigenous people, maintain peace and harmony and make transformative investments across sectors.
“The results of these investments are already visible in sectors like Health, Water Supply, Tourism, Women empowerment, Entrepreneurship, Information Technology and Power. However, the indicators in sectors like agriculture, nutrition and education need longer turnaround times. The Government is committed to work harder and strengthen collaborations to ensure improvement in every sustainable development goal”, he said.
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