CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Wednesday announced that the government would constitute a fact-finding committee headed by a senior government official independent of the district administration, with other members, to examine concerns over the Shri Cement public hearing. Until the committee completes its work, status quo will be maintained, with no further work on the project and all construction and other company activities stopped. The government also said it would be able to open the facilitation centre at Umling before Christmas, while the Meghalaya Identification, Registration, Safety and Security of Migrant Workers Act would incorporate the CCTNS Network for police verification.
Talking to media persons after chairing a meeting with a KSU delegation, Deputy Chief Ministers Sniawbhalang Dhar and Prestone Tynsong and senior government officials, Sangma said the five-point agenda submitted by the Khasi Students Union (KSU) was discussed point by point.
Talking to Media persons, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said, "We just concluded the meeting with the Leaders of these student union in the meeting our Deputy Chief Ministers and senior officials of the government were present and from the khasi students union their senior leadership had come to discuss on The five agendas that were given to the government and point by point We discussed on all the issues that were mentioned."
On the Shri Cement public hearing, Sangma said the government had to bring in private investment for economic growth and described Shri Cement as the second-largest producer of cement in the country and a reputed organisation. While the public hearing was conducted as required by law, the KSU raised concerns over the process, including alleged attempts to prevent certain people from attending, environmental issues and the involvement of other stakeholders. The fact-finding committee will examine the procedure, stakeholder consultation and environmental concerns.
"let them find out the details of all these points that as mentioned, especially regarding the public hearing, the procedure, and the process in which it happened," the CM said.
Pending the committee's report, all work on the project will remain suspended.
"Till then, All works will stop and Any kind of construction or any kind of work that is being done from the company's side Will be asked to be stopped," Sangma said.
On MRSSA 2016, Sangma said registration of people from outside the State renting accommodation was expanding but faced logistical constraints across nearly 7,000 localities-cum-villages. The government is developing a mobile application that will allow facial and document scanning and entry of basic details through mobile phones into a centralised database to accelerate registration.
On facilitation centres, Sangma clarified that the Umling facility was intended to include a facilitation centre despite the reference to a food court. It will have about 1,000 square feet, expandable to 2,000 square feet, with a joint inspection by the district administration and KSU. Construction is expected to take two to three months after resumption and the centre is expected to be operationalised before Christmas. Land for centres at Ratacherra and Atiabari is yet to be identified and will have to be purchased.
On the Meghalaya Identification, Registration, Safety and Security of Migrant Workers Act, Sangma said amendments had clarified the powers of officers to conduct inspections. Police verification can be undertaken by the district Superintendent of Police or through the CCTNS Network, a nationwide criminal-tracking system through which State police upload records.
"The local police can verify through that particular CCTNS Network and give a police verification, So this also has been incorporated," he added.
Sangma said training and orientation would be provided to officials before the amended provisions are implemented, which he expected could happen in about a month.
On NEIGRIHMS recruitment, Sangma said he had raised the KSU's concerns with the Union Minister and would facilitate a meeting between KSU representatives and the Union Health Minister. The State Government would provide logistical support, including testing centres, computer laboratories and online examinations, wherever required.
On recruitment transparency, Grade D interviews have already been abolished, while interviews for Grade C non-technical posts will be abolished from January 1, 2027. Standard operating procedures for District Selection Committees have also been cleared.
Also Read: VPP seeks cancellation of Shri Cement public hearing in East Jaintia Hills