SHILLONG, JUL 26: NPP candidate Dr DRL Nonglait has said Meghalaya needs a government-side MP to push the Centre for relief on coal mining, calling the current policy “very complicated and difficult.”
Speaking at campaigns in Sutnga and Nongtalang, he said people in Jaintia Hills and West Khasi Hills are still suffering due to court rulings, and while the NPP government has eased some norms, more leverage is needed in Delhi.
“Even then, because there is an NPP government, it has managed to ease some things to the extent of its power. If we have an MP from the government side along with the Chief Minister, we will have a stronger voice to urge the Central government to ease the conditions and also to revise the policy,” he said.
Shifting focus to employment, the NPP candidate said government jobs alone cannot absorb the state’s youth and pitched for skill development and self-employment.
“If there are only 100 government posts and 50,000 applicants, how can everyone get a government job? We need our youth to take up self-employment,” he said.
Dr Nonglait called for a state policy to promote small scale businesses and different trades, noting that products like shoes and furniture are currently sourced from outside Meghalaya due to lack of local units.
He added that training need not be sought in Delhi. “The Synjuk of Dolois and Headmen can set up centres, and the Chief Minister or MP can bring schemes to provide training to youth in different trades,” he said.
The candidate also underlined the need to protect Khasi-Pnar customs and traditional institutions.
He expressed concern over attempts to alter the clan system and the authority of village heads, Himas, Elakas, Syiems and Dolois.
“If anything comes that will cause division or take away the powers of traditional institutions, we must protect it, we must fight against it,” Dr Nonglait said.
On pending state issues, he said the NPP-led government had passed Assembly resolutions on ILP and inclusion of Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule.
He argued that electing the NPP’s official candidate was crucial to take these demands forward in Delhi, as the party is already in power both in the state and at the Centre.
“If the Chief Minister and MP go together, that is strength. An opposition candidate cannot do anything,” he said.
