CM highlights transparency in power department

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Sept 19: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today said the Cabinet’s decision to approve a Rs 700 crore tender for implementation of the loss reduction project under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) reflects the transparency that the government power department has.

“Bringing it (tender) to the cabinet is an indication of the transparency that the department has, the minister has where he would like to share the procedure, the process followed, the steps taken in order to arrive to what we have arrived and to allot to work and to move ahead with certain aspects,” Conrad told reporters.

“You have to understand that it is a large tender, it is a Rs 700 crores tender and when a large tendering process like this happens, it’s a basic process or a kind of culture that we follow that any large decision that is there and a decision which could possibly have you know, people could misunderstand even though there is nothing to misunderstand but it has possibility,” he said while adding “So it is always a culture that we try to bring these kind of decisions to the cabinet for the sake of transparency. We are not trying to hide anything, it has been given all the details to the cabinet ministers and everything is in the open for people to see.”

Recently, the opposition AITC leader and former chief minister Mukul Sangma has questioned the Cabinet’s decision to approve a tendering process proposed by the power department and cautioned the cabinet ministers if it can be a trap against them.

Reacting to this, Conrad said, “It’s quite funny that Dr Mukul Sangma has questioned why. That means he is questioning the transparency procedure that we are having. If we wanted to do it quietly or if there was an intention then we would have never brought it to Cabinet.”

He said every detail about how many times the retendering, how many times the extension of the tendering was done it’s mentioned out there in the cabinet note and the cabinet ministers were briefed about it about the fact that the government had written continuously a couple of times to the REC and inform them about the different kind of issues that came up in the tendering process and sought their approval to go ahead because the tendering process had been extended had been re-tendered.

“And all the necessary procedures have been followed and only after we got the approval or a green signal from REC did we go ahead with the certain aspects. Of course procedure is not complete yet but certain parts are moving forward and in that process to ensure the transparency would be maintained we decided together both AT Mondal and myself that lets us take it to the cabinet and let everybody know what it is, ask questions about it, feel free to feel comfortable about all the questions so that there is no doubt tomorrow if anybody in the press or public asks us,” the CM said.

“So I think it’s just the opposite of what he (Mukul) had reacted to that. I think the fact that has been brought to the cabinet is something that one should appreciate that transparency is being maintained,” he further added.

Govt empowering women through economic activities: CM

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Friday addressed the National Seminar on “Representation of Women of North East India in Multi–Disciplinary Discourse” at Don Bosco College, Tura.

The seminar was attended by scholars from different parts of the country, and papers were presented. The seminar saw the participation of Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma as well. The keynote address was delivered by Prof Sukalpa Bhattacharjee of the NEHU Shillong campus.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the government has conceptualized a programme to empower women through different economic activities. He further informed that through the SHG movement, the government is ensuring that women are made financially independent.

He told the gathering of a situation, where young women were at high risk due to childbirth without spacing of three years and some young women even giving birth to more than five children by the age of 23 years.

“So we had to come up with a solution which is long-lasting that ensures the health and well-being of a mother. The Safe Motherhood Programme addresses the concern of women. We have also introduced intervention that empowers women financially through income generating activities initiated through Self Help Group,” he added, while stating that economic empowerment of women is of paramount concern of the government.

He further informed that Meghalaya is one of the few states in the country, where 95 per cent of the women from rural areas are part of the Self Help Group movement. He said that there are over 4 lakh women under the SHG movement in the State, which was around 35,000 thousand prior to 2018.

He further said that the government is working with a positive mindset to provide different opportunities to enable the economic empowerment of women. He said that there are different problems confronting women but the government is working with an approach to provide effective solutions to those problems.

“Having a positive mindset does not mean that we overlook the problem. However, we come up with a perspective to address the concern and improve things. It is a challenge but we have to come up with an approach to ensure real change,” he stressed.

Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma, spoke at length on the contribution of women in different fields. He also urged the women to continue to overcome challenges and stand tall in making their contribution to society. He also said that women have better convincing power and their active participation is very important in different sectors.