Meghalaya Assembly ratifies bill to extend reservation to SC, ST

Shillong, Jan. 20 (PTI): The Meghalaya Assembly on Monday ratified a bill to extend reservation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for another 10 years.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said although people belonging to the SC and the ST communities have made considerable progress in the last 70 years, the reasons which weighed with the Constituent Assembly in making provisions with regard to the reservation of seats have not ceased to exist.

“Therefore, with a view to retaining the inclusive character as envisioned by the founding fathers of the Constitution, it is proposed to continue the reservation of seats for the SC and ST for another 10 years i.e. up to 25th January 2030,” he said in the House.

Though the opposition Congress supported the resolution, it expressed concern over the decision of the Centre to not further extend reservation to the Anglo Indians.

Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma said, “We must look at the possibility of articulating our concern as we send this ratification.”

In his reply, the chief minister said though the proposed amendment does not extend the reservation for Anglo Indians, it does not affect Meghalaya.

Meanwhile, the chief minister also assured the House that the suggestion to set up a commission for SC and ST at the state-level will be examined by his government.

Reviewing progress of 16 power projects
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Monday said he is reviewing the progress of 16 power projects in the state.

He said that a number of projects have been stuck due to different reasons such as land acquisition, delay in the submission of detailed project reports (DPRs) and laying of transmission lines.

“We have been holding a number of review meetings to ensure that these projects move forward. This is not something that will happen overnight or in a day but we are trying to do whatever we can,” Sangma told reporters.

The chief minister admitted that there were delays in the Kynshi Stage I project due to land acquisition. He, however, said that the government is working to resolve the matter, while the issue of uranium deposit has led to complications in the Kynshi Stage II project.

He also informed that many other steps have been taken to ensure that the overall power scenario improves in the state.

Sangma said efforts are also being made to ensure that renewable energy is used in different government offices.

“We have installed solar panels and currently we are producing around 50 kilowatt a day and once net metering takes place, the power will go back into the grid. This is a system we want to put in place at all the government offices, including the secretariat,” he said.