Meghalaya CM Proposes Infrastructure Projects Which Could be 'Game-changers' for the Northeast

Guwahati, September 8, 2019:

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Sunday expressed his concerns in front of Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the Plenary Session of the Northeastern Council (NEC), today. After extending his best wishes to Amit Shah on his new assignment as the Chairman of the NEC, he said that the Northeast is looking at Shah to solve the long pending issues.

"Despite the importance of the region in the provision of ecosystem services, the region is economically underdeveloped, contributing only 2.6 percent to the Net Domestic Product of the country", Sangma said.

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The Meghalaya CM Further went on to explain that the underdevelopment of the region stems from the various geographic and historical circumstances. Being largely landlocked with mountainous terrain, the cost of building and maintaining infrastructure is much higher in the region. The cost disability in infrastructure creation is further accentuated by the lower density of population and a higher number of habitations. A recent study by IIT Guwahati has quantified the cost disability for Meghalaya on various parameters.

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"The labor cost in Meghalaya is 47% higher than Odhisa. In comparison to states like Odhisa and Madhya Pradesh, the hiring of machinery in Meghalaya is 50% higher on average across most equipment. The unit cost of highway projects is also 2.24 times higher than other General category states", he said.

He further proposed two iconic infrastructure projects, which could be "game-changers for the entire region".

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"The first project is the 8-laning of Guwahati- Shillong- Dawki-Sylhet- Chittagong Highway. This project involves the up-gradation of the existing roads and will enable transportation and export of materials and minerals from the Northeastern States to the south East Asian countries through Chittagong. It will have a transformative impact on the region’s economy. The second critical project is the Silchar – Mahendraganj - Hili road which also includes a bridge across the river Brahmaputra. This road will dramatically reduce the travel time between the North Eastern States and the rest of the country", Sangma suggested.

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