Staff Reporter

Shillong, Feb 23: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today assured to personally examine the applications of the five coke plants, which consent to establish (CTE) was recently granted by the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB), and said necessary action will be taken if norms are flouted.

Sangma however said it would be incorrect to completely look at coke plants or industries as “villains” as the state needs economic growth by bringing investments and generating jobs for the people.

The chief minister was replying to a zero hour notice brought by UDP legislator from Mookaiaw Nujorki Sungoh during the Assembly session here.

Sungoh had expressed surprise at the decision of the MSPCB to grant fresh CTE to five coke plants in East Jaintia Hills. He alleged that earlier, the same MSPCB had rejected the applications of three out of five coke plants citing that the locations proposed were not suitable adding in fact all five coke plants were categorized as erring.

Referring to the negative impact of the coke plants on the environment, Sungoh said, “no wonder we have been referred to as the cancer capital.”

In his reply, the chief minister said there are norms that are followed and there is no question of anybody flouting the norms and if they do flout the norms necessary action is there to deal with them as per the law.

“Let me assure the member that this is a subject, which is close to my heart and I will personally look into these issues and I will personally go into each of the applications myself and find out what the procedures were. I would personally call a meeting at my level with the MSPCB and get back to the member (on this),” he said.

Sangma however maintained, “…if the procedures and norms have been followed then obviously we cannot deny anybody from going ahead with their business. If anywhere we found the norms have flouted, I assure (necessary action will be taken).”

Asserting the need to strike a fine balance between ecology and economy, the chief minister said, “We realised there is an aspect of livelihood, economic growth, development that we need to do but all of this does have an impact on the environment. Hence, the best way to strike a balance in all of these cases is to have different laws, regulations and policies in place so that they are followed.”

He said that there are concerns no doubt but looking at the economic activities that we need to move forward, these are aspects which are done to bring in investments and jobs to our state.

“Therefore, it would be incorrect for us to completely look at coke plants every time say industries that they are the villains and do bad things. That would not be a correct perception. Though, there may be issues but outrightly saying everything that is being done from an industrial development point of view is bad for us then we will not be able to achieve the economic growth that we desire and job creation will be affected. Therefore, that narrative must be changed, it is wrong for us to perceive that every single plant is bad, every single industry is bad. It is not a very correct thought process,” the CM stated.

On the health concerns, Sangma said it is part of the different economic activities that could lead to these health hazards and it is fact throughout the world, it happens everywhere and therefore there is always a fine balance that we have to maintain.

“But indicating that because of the industrial developmental work, we are the cancer capital in the country would again be a very far fetched kind of a linkage. Yes, health concerns are there and definitely environmental effects do affect but directly linking that and said because of that all cancers are happening is again a conclusion which we are jumping to on a very extreme scale,” he said while adding that there are many other factors behind the cancer cases in the state.

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Sept 20: The physical progress of the construction of the science and commerce college at Mawphlang is 72 per cent.

Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma in his reply to a starred question tabled in the Assembly on Wednesday informed that the project was sanctioned at Rs 36.55 crore on June 30, 2017, out of which Rs 14.815 crore has been spent so far.

He said that the stipulated date for completion of the project is March next year.

He said that the classes will commence in this college after the completion of the construction of buildings and on completion of academic procedures.

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Sept 19: Over 510 lower primary and secondary schools across the State are in a dilapidated condition.

This was informed by Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma in his reply to a starred question tabled in the Assembly today.

Out of this, 495 are government lower primary schools and 15 are government secondary schools, Sangma said.

He said the 43 schools are covered for construction/renovation under phase 1, 20 – phase 2 and 332 – phase 3.

He said that the remaining 115 schools will be proposed for construction/renovation in the future phases.

Staff Reporter

Shillong, Sept 19: The North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) today said the recent scuffle among students residing in the hostel was in no way related to communal issues.

The Monday night incident, which involved a verbal altercation and physical confrontation among students residing in the hostel, was related to disagreements regarding the rules and regulations governing hostel life.

Immediate action was taken to diffuse the situation and ensure the safety and well-being of all students involved.

The Dean of Students Welfare, the Warden of Hostel 19 and the University’s Security Officer promptly arrived at the scene to pacify the situation and maintain order.

Furthermore, local law enforcement was notified of the incident, and they promptly arrived on the NEHU premises to assess the situation and assist in maintaining peace and order.

The NEHU Vice Chancellor Prof PS Shukla today convened a high-level meeting to address the incident comprehensively. The meeting was attended Registrar, the Dean of Students Welfare, Proctor, Security Officer, and the Warden of Hostel No. 19.

“The purpose of this meeting was to thoroughly discuss the matter and ensure that due disciplinary actions are taken in accordance with the rules and regulations of the University,” NEHU PRO Dr Davidson Pyngrope said in a statement.

“NEHU wishes to emphasize that the situation has been brought under control, and the incident was in no way related to communal issues, as falsely reported by various sources. The University remains committed to upholding a safe and inclusive environment for all students, and any breaches of conduct will be addressed with utmost seriousness and adherence to established protocols,” he said.

Meanwhile, NEHU urged all stakeholders, including staff, students, parents, and the general public, to rely on official statements and verified information provided by the University to avoid spreading baseless rumours or misinformation.

“The University remains dedicated to the holistic development and well-being of its student community and will continue to take all necessary steps to maintain a harmonious and conducive learning environment,” Prof Pyngrope said.

Candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Seraph Eric Kharbuki has assured to fight for a degree college and a residential school in Sohiong constituency if elected as MLA in the upcoming election to be held on May 10.

Spelling out his priorities, Kharbuki told reporters today that his decision to contest in the up-coming is to become a leader or a people’s representative who will frame laws and policy and not merely a leader who is only concerned in distributing MLA schemes.

Kharbuki said that his objective of contesting the by-election is to serve the public of the constituency especially when it comes to education and to able to come up with policy that will benefit the farmers of the constituency and the state as whole

He added that he had vision for the need to have a degree college in Lum Diengiei and an Eklavya Residential School.

“Apart from schools and colleges in the constituency, I have also listed out in the manifesto to have a agriculture and horticulture office, state bank of India and Apex bank in Lum Diengiei, to promote tourism and sports in the constituency by constructing two mini stadium” said Kharbuki.

Kharbuki also stressed on the need to legalize direct funding through corpus funds to all Dorbar Shnong in order to implement various developmental schemes in all villages and to install street lights in various important localities in the constituency.

The All Meghalaya Fourth Teachers Association Garo Hills Unit (AM4thTA GHU) has expressed unhappiness due to the non-release of their three–month salary.

The association said that the 4th teachers are yet to receive their salary for January to March 2023 and are facing lots of problems with their daily wages even going to school.

The association in its memorandum to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and Education Minister Rakkam Sangma and also to the DSEL officers too on March 17 had demanded regularization of 1521 fourth teachers services, equal salary at par with Adhoc Upper Primary School teachers and to ensure regular disbursement of salary to teachers respective accounts and 5 per cent annual increment for Meghalaya 4th Teachers.

“If the MDA 2.0 government neglects the teachers’ salary then how will the teachers go to school with an empty stomach and empty pockets as they are without salary for three months? Therefore, the association requested the chief minister and education minister to look into the matter and ensure speedy release of our 3-month salary,” the president of the association Tengrang K Sangma said.

The three-day-long 7th North East Graduate Congress (NEGC)-2023 has successfully concluded today at the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) with the participation of more than 10,000 college students from various colleges of the eight northeastern states of India.

Among the various competitions, the Best Performing College award went to Sibsagar College, while Kampur College won the Best Magazine prize. The Best Debater award went to Saphira Magdaline Lyngdoh from St Anthony’s College, Shillong, and the winner of the Cultural Procession was Mayong Ancholik College.

A total of 46 competitions in various sports, cultural, literary and start-up categories, as well as sessions on competitive examinations, personality development and a job fair took place in this mega youth event. Attractive awards worth Rs 50 lakh, including two-wheelers, laptops, tablets, mobile phones and cash prizes were awarded to the winners of different competitions.

Addressing a large gathering of students and teachers, Mahbubul Hoque, Chancellor of USTM, said, “We have been organising NEGC to benefit the region’s youths by helping them set their vision so that they can shoulder responsibilities and contribute to nation-building.” NEGC is the most acclaimed flagship programme of USTM that aims to inculcate the spirit of competitiveness, regional integrity, social harmony and brotherhood among the youth, he added.

To provide the best employment opportunities to the educated youths of the region, a mega job fair was also organized for the NEGC participants. More than 500 Graduates from various institutions participated in the Job Fair. Companies such as Bajaj Allianz, Reliance Jio, Kotak Life Insurance, CavinKare, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, MGT Motors Pvt. Ltd were a part of the Job Fair to recruit the youths. Around 150 students have been shortlisted for different positions from technical to non-technical profiles.

A spectacular view of the rich cultural mosaic of the North East was showcased by thousands of the youth from different colleges of the eight states of the region at the playground of USTM. The inaugural ceremony of NEGC-2023 was witnessed by a galaxy of prominent personalities ranging from youth icons, academia, politicians, cultural and sports icons, motivational speakers, principals of various colleges, faculty members and many students.

In this 7th edition of NEGC, various co-curricular activities were organised. The cultural competitions include cultural showcasing, skit, group song, group dance, on-the-spot painting, mehendi, cartooning, photography and rongoli. The sports competitions are volleyball, kabaddi, chess, arm wrestling, powerlifting, badminton, basketball, and horse riding. The literary competitions include debate, quiz and start-up.