73Rd Independence Day Speech

GOVERNMENT OF MEGHALAYA

73RD INDEPENDENCE DAY SPEECH

SHRI CONRAD K. SANGMA CHIEF MINISTER OF MEGHALAYA

15th AUGUST, 2019 SHILLONG

SPEECH OF THE CHIEF MINISTER OF MEGHALAYA 73RD INDEPENDENCE DAY 15TH August, 2019

1. My dear citizens of Meghalaya, I wish you all a very happy 73rd Independence Day from the bottom of my heart! I take this opportunity to pay homage to the valiant martyrs and the great freedom fighters of our country. I also offer my heartfelt tribute to the father of our nation – Mahatma Gandhi and all the freedom fighters. On this occasion, I also offer my sincere homage to the patriots of our State - U Tirot Sing, U Kiang Nangbah and Pa ToganSangma.

2. Meghalaya is a State with bountiful natural and water resources. We have a rich repository of both floral and faunal diversity. With 76 percent of the State under forest cover, Meghalaya ranks among the top states in the country in terms of total area under forest cover. Our communities have always strived to preserve the resources that we have been blessed with. The large agro-biodiversity of Meghalaya can help promote agri-horticulture and livestock based economic development. Further, Tourism and hospitality sectors are key to our growth. The law and order situation is also by and large peaceful and provides the right background for pursuing transformational development.

3. Despite the many advantages, the State also faces several challenges and natural disasters are one of them. I offer my deepest condolences to the families of those persons who have lost their lives due to the

recent floods that caused widespread damage and destruction. I also share the pain of all those who have suffered injuries and those who lost their properties during the floods. I would like to express my gratitude towards all those who have assisted in the flood relief operations and those who have made generous contributions towards the Chief Minister’s relief fund.

4. My fellow citizens, the recent verdict of the Hon’ble Supreme Court lifting the 2014 ban on coal mining is a big victory for the people of the state. The Hon’ble Court upheld the Government’s contention that the Indigenous people of Meghalaya have rights over land and over the extracted mineral. Perhaps for the first time anywhere in the country, the Government argued for protection of Tribal rights, the unique culture and identity of the people before the highest court of the land. This government walked the talk on the issue and I feel a great sense of satisfaction today. The judgement of the court is historic and its implications extend beyond the realm of coal mining. Once tribal identity has been acknowledged by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the customs, practices and traditions will remain protected.

5. This judgement will certainly have a positive impact on the economy of the State and will lead to revival of the coal mining areas. Friends, the state has about 576 million tonnes of coal deposits and about 9,300 million tonnes of limestone deposits. The value of all mineral resources of the State is about 180 billion US Dollars. The government is now putting in place systems for sustainable mining so that the

present and future generation can reap the benefits of these important resources.

6. The Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) Government’s vision is to capitalise on all the strengths of the State and to take Meghalaya to new heights of development and prosperity in the coming years. We are specifically focussing on Human development, Primary sector rejuvenation, Infrastructure expansion, Entrepreneurship promotion, Environmental protection and Governance reform.

7. I will highlight some key focus areas for my Government as we work towards achieving our development goals. We are placing huge emphasis on secondary education. In our state, the total number of students in Secondary schools is 1,04,727 and Higher Secondary schools is 54,739. However, the number of individuals in the age bracket of 15-19 years is 4,03,675. This means there is a big gap in the number of seats available for children to pursue secondary and higher secondary education. To bridge this gap, the Government is in the process of setting up Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) in all blocks of the State. Each of these residential schools will be constructed at an approximate cost of ₹ 24 crore and will cater to 480 students when fully operational. This initiative will transform the landscape of secondary education in our State. We already got sanction for 11 EMRS from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It is expected that 25 more EMRS will be sanctioned for the State in the next two years. The government is registering a society to ensure that the EMRS schools are managed efficiently.

8. Even in Higher Education, there is a large demand supply gap. The number of colleges in our State is 71 with an enrolment number of 67,352, while the number of individuals in the age bracket of college goers is 3,85,878. To deal with this issue we are establishing some new degree colleges. For instance, two new model degree colleges have been sanctioned at Patharkhmah, Ribhoi and Rongjeng, East Garo Hills. However, we also realise that Government alone cannot cater to this huge need. Hence, we decided to set up nine brown field community colleges, which will be run by the local communities. Government will provide a one-time infrastructure grant and the recurring expenditure. My Government wants to expand the participation of communities, civil society and the private sector in the provision of quality education. I encourage and invite the different actors to participate in this critical endeavour.

9. In the Health Sector, we are all aware that our performance on key Maternal and Child Health indicators like Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality rate is not satisfactory. Our Infant Mortality Rate is 39 deaths per 1000 livebirths and our Maternal Mortality rate is 197 deaths per 100,000 livebirths. My goal is to reduce these numbers dramatically in the next 2-3 years. To achieve this, we have successfully piloted a new initiative that uses real time data on the pregnant women to monitor their health status on a continuous basis. Under this data driven model, primary data on pregnant women is collected by the Medical Officers and Health functionaries through a mobile app. This data is updated regularly and can be seen in

Shillong by me and other health officials. Each pregnant woman can be tracked and on any given day, the number of women due for delivery can be seen on the Chief Minister’s Dash Board. In South West Garo Hills District, where this initiative was piloted, institutional deliveries improved by 30 percent in just 3 months. Now we are expanding this project to all the districts of the State and to cover not only health and institutional deliveries, but also the sectors of Nutrition, Education and Rural Development. I am naming this initiative Meghalaya’s Outcomes oriented Transformation in Health, nutrition, Education and Rural development Program or the MOTHER program. This name signifies the centrality of mothers in achieving development goals in Health, Nutrition and Education. The MOTHER program is my Government’s tribute to all the women (mei’s and magipa’s) of the State.

10. Once the program is launched across the State, all grass root development functionaries will have the MOTHER app on their phones. They will collect key data on Health, Nutrition, Education and Rural Development and the same data will be seen in the CMs dash board in real time. This micro data will be used to make policies and to drive transformational development.

11. A second key constraint in health care provision is lack of adequate infrastructure and human resources. We only have 436 government doctors in the entire State. Like in the education sector, we need more private sector and civil society participation to improve this State of affairs. Currently about 22 health institutions are being managed in a

PPP mode. The government intends to expand this engagement. In addition, we are also trying to leverage external resources for improving the sector. The “Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project” has been recently proposed for World Bank funding.

12. Another crucial aspect in health care is availability of free medicines at all health facilities. ₹ 66 crore has been allocated in this year for the procurement of medicines. We are developing an on line system for collating medicine demand in a bottom-up manner. The online system will have a dashboard that will enable me and other Health functionaries to monitor the disbursement of medicines regularly. We are also constructing warehousing for the storage of medicines in all the district headquarters and at CHCs with an investment of about ₹ 20 crore.

13. Another key component of Human development strategy is poverty alleviation. The State government has placed special emphasis on the effective implementation of poverty alleviation programmes. Meghalaya is today one of the top implementers of MGNREGS in the country. We have spent about ₹ 1000 crore on MGNREGS in the last financial year generating an average of 72 person days of wage employment for all registered job-card holders in the State. We are also prioritizing the construction of pucca houses to all eligible households. In 2018-19, about 4900 houses were constructed at an expenditure of ₹ 113 crore. This year, the government targets to construct about 17,200 houses.

14. Another area which the government is deeply concerned about is providing timely pension benefits to all eligible beneficiaries. The Chief Minister’s Social Assistance programme covers 53,573 senior citizens, 30,284 single mothers and 12,000 persons with disabilities. We have sanctioned and released, in full, the pending pensions from the year 2017-18 and those for the year 2018-19 for all the beneficiaries. Further, for the first time in the history of the state, we have put in place a system to ensure that pensions are credited to the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries in the first week of every month. This is a significant step towards respecting the dignity of our senior citizens, single mothers and persons with disabilities.

15. The government is especially concerned about the farmers of the State. The Cabinet has just approved the renaming of the Department of Agriculture as the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. We are one of the few States in the country to have set up a Farmers’ Commission, a mechanism to ensure that all grievances of the farming community are given due regard and heard. We have also recently categorized Broom Stick as an Agro-forestry product and Long Pepper and Bay leaf as agricultural commodities thus making it more convenient for the farmers to cultivate these crops.

16. Friends, you already know that we have launched a number of missions to improve the production and productivity in the horticulture sector. The Missions in the sectors of Lakadong Turmeric, Jackfruit and Mushroom have now started to bear fruit. Recently the Market Lead of Amazon, USA, visited the Turmeric

farms of Shangpung areas and discussed the possibilities for bulk procurement of turmeric for the US markets. Another San Francisco based spice company has also expressed desire to source turmeric directly from the farmers. After the launch of the Jackfruit Mission, a local company was approached by buyers in Singapore for the supply of 200 metric tons of raw jackfruit.

17. Friends, in addition to the horticulture-related Missions, we recently launched two new Missions that have immense potential to bring higher income to the farmers of the State. The Muga mission will build on our natural advantage in Muga production and focus on value addition. We also launched the Aroma Mission in collaboration with Centre for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CMAP) Lucknow. Aromatic plants could be a real game changer for our people given that they can grow even in waste lands. Our immediate goal is to start with Citronella and Lemon Grass plantations in 55 hectares covering all the districts of the State. We will also set up small distillation units that can produce 20-25 kgs of oil.

18. The Meghalaya Milk mission is also being implemented successfully, with funding support of ₹215 Crore from the National Cooperation Development Corporation (NCDC). Interesting and novel ideas that can bring very high value to the farmers are being implemented. For instance, cattle ranches are being developed in villages like Mawmerang in South West Khasi Hills. The community in this village formed a dairy cooperative and earmarked about 200 acres of land as a ranch for free ranging dairy animals.

19. This Government realises the immense potential for food processing industry in our State. Accordingly, we created a new Directorate of Food Processing under the Department of Agriculture. I am very happy to announce that Shillong will be hosting one of the biggest food innovations show in the Eastern region called the “North East Food Show by Meghalaya and SIAL” in December 2019. The show is being organized in collaboration with SIAL Paris, the largest food innovation hub in the world.

20. Another very important area for our State and particularly the youth is Entrepreneurship Promotion. The basic challenges in building enterprises in our State are inadequate access to credit, insufficient access to markets and lack of technological know-how. The Government has taken up a number of initiatives to solve each of these problems. We have set up a fund with a corpus of ₹10 crore for providing small grants and soft loans to aspiring entrepreneurs. We also have a corpus of about ₹40 crore under the IFAD funded M- LAMP project for providing market access support for our entrepreneurs. This money will be provided to individual entrepreneurs, Self-Help Groups and Cooperative Societies for taking up projects like value addition, packaging, branding and marketing of the produce and products of the State. Another important initiative on market access is launching of the Megha-mart, an online platform to facilitate the sale and purchase of products sourced from local entrepreneurs. This online platform is like an Amazon for products made in Meghalaya by our artisans and entrepreneurs.

21. We have just launched the Chief Minister’s E- champion Challenge. This will be the first and critical step to help kickstart the large scale and long term enterprise incubation strategy of the Government. We want to select about 50 entrepreneurs from across the State through a competitive process. The top 25 among them will be given cash prize of ₹ 1 lakh each and the next 25 will be given a cash prize of ₹ 50 thousand each. We will then provide the selected Enterprise- Champions (E-Champs) with one year of incubation support to take their business ideas to the next level. I encourage all the youth of the State to apply for the E-champion Challenge. The Government has partnered with IIM Calcutta- Innovation Park, to conduct this challenge and to provide incubation services for the selected E- Champs.

22. We are also planning to institutionalise enterprise incubation through the setting up of large multi-sectoral Incubators at both Shillong and Tura. Small scale sectoral incubators called Growth Hubs will also be set up in the different blocks. We have already started the process of selecting NGOs for managing these Growth Hubs.

23. The State has also recently approved the Start-up policy under which incentives will be provided to start-ups. This policy along with all the other enterprise promotion activities will give a huge boost to innovation in the State and contribute to our goal of making Meghalaya a Knowledge Economy.

24. A sector that is very closely connected with Entrepreneurship is Tourism. Despite the phenomenal potential of Meghalaya as a tourist destination, the contribution of this sector to the State GDP is less than 5 percent. We want to promote Meghalaya as a sustainable high- value tourist destination and to create a unique experience for national and international Tourists. We are in talks with international brands like Airbnb for promoting the State in that direction. The ultimate goal of Meghalaya Tourism is to generate better incomes for our entrepreneurs and local communities.

25. Village eco-tourism is an area that holds enormous promise for the State. I recently visited Mawlynnong and interacted with Bah Moral Stone Khrrymba and other village leaders and the youth there. The government wants to strongly promote village tourism so that money goes directly into the rural areas. We have many villages in the State that have unique selling points. Cases in point are the Jingrwai Iawbei tradition of Kongthong village in Khatar shnong and the Hoolock Gibbons of the Nokrek biosphere reserve. The distinct cultural and bio-diversity richness of our villages can be marketed in a sustainable way.

26. Another top priority for my government is focus on sustainability. Meghalaya has a fragile eco-system that needs to be conserved and protected. Our ecology and environment is our greatest strength. Realizing this, the government has placed Sustainability and environmental conservation at the centre of its development efforts. Under the IFAD funded project M-LAMP (Meghalaya Livelihoods

and Access to Markets Project), Integrated Natural resource Management Plans are being made in 1350 villages. Based on these plans, activities like construction of spring chambers and check dams, and afforestation related projects are being taken up. In the recent review mission, the IFAD strongly appreciated the efforts being made by the State Government toward promoting Natural Resource Management. A similar initiative is being taken up in 400 villages under the World Bank Funded Community Led Landscape Management Project (CLLMP). Based on these projects, Meghalaya is emerging as a model for the different North Eastern and Hill States of the country in the area of Natural Resource Management.

27. In addition to externally aided programmes, the State has its own programmes to promote sustainability through community participation. We launched the Meghalaya One Citizen One Tree initiative and encouraged every citizen of the state to plant and take care of at least one tree. On this year’s World Environment Day, the 5th of June, the citizens of the State planted a total of 1.2 million trees.I thank every citizen who participated in this project. I also want to remind everyone that One Citizen One Tree campaign is not just about planting trees, but also about nurturing the planted trees and ensuring their survival. Once again participation and active involvement of all citizens and the civil society is key to our sustainability efforts. I would encourage all the citizens to take small but significant steps towards ensuring cleanliness, promoting rain water harvesting, garbage management and drainage cleaning in

their respective localities. The Government and the Citizens can together take Meghalaya on the path to sustainability.

28. Another path breaking initiative of my government is the Meghalaya Water Policy. We have become the first state in the country to formulate a State Water Policy. This policy will enable us to better manage our water resources and ensure long term water security and equity. One of the goals is to harness the 3000 mm of average annual rainfall that the State receives. Currently, most of this abundant resource is washed off. To remedy this scenario, we plan to create a large network of decentralized water storage infrastructure across the state in the form of 5000 small multipurpose reservoirs (SMRs) of varying capacities. The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modiji has appreciated our State for taking this initiative in his recent mann ki baat program. We are planning to organise a national conference on water management and policy at Shillong this year so that other states can learn from our experience and we from theirs.

29. We all know that Meghalaya has a huge young population- 68 percent of our population is below 29 years of age. Our youth are immensely talented and several of them have brought laurels to the State and the country in the recent past. Blessilla A Sangma, a nine- year-old athlete from Tura, brought laurels by winning gold in the 4th Child Cup and 10th Mini National Fencing Championship held at Maharashtra recently. In other sporting disciplines, one of our youths from South West

Khasi Hills, Tlanding Wahlang, who is also India’s fastest Ultramarathon runner represented India in Portugal and participated in the World Trail Championship. Records were broken by a youth from our State, Winward Sangma by pedaling through the Himalayas from Nepal. Another of our champions, Phoebe Dale Nongrum created ripples by being the first Formula 4 racer from Northeast India. Keeping alive the spirit of music, students of Kiddies Corner Secondary School won gold and silver in the 8th International Choir Festival held at Bali this July. Our very own Aroha Choir did us proud by representing the country and winning the 1st prize in the Acapella category at a competition in Wales. In the field of visual arts, a very talented Filmmaker, Dominic M Sangma, directed the National award-winning film Ma.Ama. I had the privilege of meeting him recently. In the fashion arena, one of our girls, Tanvi Raksam Marak emerged as the winner of Mega Miss Northeast 2019.

30. One of the missions of this government is to empower and skill our naturally talented youth to realise their full potential. We have set up a Skill Challenge Fund under the ADB funded Project-‘Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya’. We are targeting to train about 50,000 youth by 2020 under the various programs of the Government.

31. Sports is the ultimate arena for our youth to excel and shine. All of us know that Meghalaya will be hosting the 39th National games in 2022, which is the 50th year of our Statehood and the 75th year of India’s

Independence. Our mission is to use the National Games as a platform for creating a brand-new sports culture in the State and to put Meghalaya strongly on the sports map of India.The Government is committed to hosting a spectacular National game in 2022. Land has been identified and acquired at Mawdiangdiang in Shillong, at Dalmagre in Tura and at other venues for the construction of Stadia and games villages. The process of design of the Stadia and other infrastructure has started. The proposal for the sanction of about ₹170 crore for building the main stadium at Mawdiangdiang is at an advanced stage. The Sports department is also in close touch with the Sports Associations and the process of our State team preparation has begun.

32. We will be organising the Meghalaya Games in November this year as we start preparing for the National Games. It is important to note that the last Meghalaya games were held in 2006 and we will be reviving them after a period of 13 years. We are also organising the National Games outreach summit by the end of the year to mobilize support for our sports men and women from Corporates and other entities.

33. Friends, now I want to talk about physical infrastructure, which forms the basis and backbone for driving the development agenda. We are prioritizing infrastructure creation in all sectors including roads, bridges, water supply, power, air transport and information technology. A key initiative in the infrastructure sector is the Meghalaya Integrated Transport Project, an Externally Aided Project

being implemented with support from the World Bank. The total project cost is about ₹.1050 crore, which will be spent over a five-year period. Under the project, we are prioritising construction and rehabilitation of Strategic State Highways and Major District Roads, replacement of semi-permanent timber bridges that are in a dilapidated condition, improving last mile connectivity through plastic cell technology roads and building iconic new projects like passenger ropeways. The feasibility study for ropeways at Shillong and Tura is underway. Improving urban mobility in our cities, with particular focus on Shillong, is also one of the project components.

34. The much awaited Shillong-Mawlai bypass will be inaugurated within a week. The 5.5 kms road will, to some extent, relieve the traffic pressure in Shillong city. We also want to make Shillong city more pedestrian friendly and sustainable. Planning is on for building sky walks, multilevel parking and deployment of e-buses.

35. A significant achievement in the infrastructure sector is the operationalization of the Umroi airport. Indigo airlines have already begun its Kolkata-Shillong-Kolkata service with the first flight landing on July 21. The Government is also exploring direct connectivity between Shillong and other Indian cities.

36. We are also making all out efforts to improve the Digital Infrastructure in the State. Work on the construction of the Tech park is progressing well and we hope to complete it by October 2020. The National e-Governance conference was held at Shillong last week

with participation of Information technology partners from both the Government and Private Sector.

37. Another key infrastructure sector is border infrastructure given our 443 kilometers of International border with Bangladesh. The approximate value of our exports to Bangladesh is around ₹ 600 Crore and the total imports is around ₹ 30 Crore. There is immense potential for improvement in trade and tourism related activities with Bangladesh. Recently the Indian High Commission from Bangladesh visited the State and had long consultations with us on exploring opportunities to improve our engagement. I have requested our Hon’ble PM to take up the 8-Laning of Guwahati -Shillong-Dawki- Sylhet -Chitagong Highway. This project will enable transportation and export of materials and minerals from the North Eastern States to the South East Asian countries through Chittagong port and will have a transformative impact on the region’s economy.

38. We are also making key investments in the other critical infrastructure sectors of Power and Drinking water. An amount of ₹ 50 crore has been recently sanctioned for the augmentation of the Mawlai sub-station under the North Eastern Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS). Sanctions have also been obtained for Implementation of Greater Sohra Water Supply Scheme and Laying of New Feeder Mains for Tura Phase-I and II Water Supply Scheme for an amount of ₹ 60 crore under the same program.

39. Friends, it goes without saying that a lot of investment is needed to realise our ambitious goals in various sectors. The Fifteenth Finance Commission, which is responsible for allocating resources to the States from 2020-25, recently visited our State. We presented our need for funds very strongly to the Commission and sought grants-in-aid to the tune of ₹82,815 Crore. A supplementary memorandum was also submitted highlighting the specific fund requirement for the National games and for development of Tourism and ropeways. We are hopeful that the Finance Commission will consider our demands favourably.

40. In addition to relying on central grants, we are making concerted efforts to improve our own State revenues. We have just launched a system for QR-coding and app-based scanning of Challans used by the Forest and Mineral resources Departments. This system will prevent duplication of challans and improve the royalty collection on minerals. We have also started the process for setting up of Integrated Check gates at few locations in the State and end-to-end computerization of the revenue collection on minerals. Similar initiatives have led to substantial increases in revenue collection in mineral rich States like Chhattisgarh and Orissa. I am hopeful that the QR-coding of challans and setting up of the integrated check gates will improve our revenue collection considerably. I would like to emphasise that this is the first time in the history of the State that such systematic efforts are being made to improve the State’s own revenue collection.

41. A third strategy for mobilization of investments is to apply for externally aided projects. We already have four major ongoing projects- IFAD Funded M-LAMP Project, World bank Funded CLLMP Project, World Bank funded Integrated Transport Project and the ADB funded Supporting Human Capital in Meghalaya Project. Three more projects in the sectors of Community Forestry, Farmer’s Mobilization and Protection of Vulnerable Catchment areas are at an advanced stage of approval. We have also recently submitted projects in the sectors of health, power and soil and water conservation. New and novel projects in the sectors of Tourism, Urban mobility, financial management and Secondary education are being prepared.

42. My dear citizens, I want to assure all of you that my Government has a clear vision and strategy to improve the well-being of every section of the society including our farmers, our youth, our entrepreneurs, our elderly, our school going children, and our citizens in rural areas. To achieve the goals and aspirations of the 3 million Meghalayans, our economy needs to growth more strongly than in the past decade. Today the size of Meghalaya’s economy is about ₹ 30,000 Crore or 4.2 billion US Dollars. The size of the Indian economy is 2.6 trillion USD dollars. As the Indian economy expands to become 5 trillion dollars by 2024-25 under the leadership of our Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Moi ji, Meghalaya’s economy also needs to double in the next five years and at least become 10 billion US dollors. This will mean that our growth rates should be higher than 10 percent in the next few years. To make such growth rates possible, investments by both the Government and Private Sector are necessary. The government will

make every effort so that the size of the economy expands and that this expansion will lead to greater well-being of all our citizens.

43. Friends, in conclusion, I encourage each of us to make a commitment by taking steps to ensure positive and collective impact and build a state that encourages young people to dream, a state that supports entrepreneurs to innovate and create, and a state that chooses a government that keeps aspirations of its people first. Let us not take our freedom for granted. Let us work towards strengthening each other because together we can!

44. Happy 73rd Independence Day to each of you!

KHUBLEI !MITELA !! JAI HIND !!!