Meghalaya: Amit Shah plants sapling at Raj Bhavan in Shillong

Shillong (Meghalaya) [India], December 17 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday arrived in Shillong and planted a sapling at the Raj Bhavan.

He was received by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on his arrival. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma was also present.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also scheduled to visit Meghalaya and Tripura tomorrow to unveil projects worth over Rs 6,800 crore.

The projects encompass a wide array of sectors including housing, road, agriculture, telecom, IT, tourism and hospitality.

In Shillong, Prime Minister will participate in the golden jubilee celebration of the North Eastern Council. The Council was formally inaugurated on November 7, 1972.
An official release said NEC has played a key role in the socio-economic development of the North Eastern region and has lent support to various infrastructure projects and other development initiatives across all states of the region.

It has helped create valuable capital and social infrastructure, especially in critical gap areas of sectors including education, health, sports, water resources, agriculture, tourism, industry, among others.

At around 10:30 am, the Prime Minister will attend the meeting of the North Eastern Council at the State Convention Centre, Shillong.

At a public function later, the Prime Minister will inaugurate, dedicate and lay the foundation stone of multiple projects worth over Rs 2450 crore.

In a step that will further boost telecom connectivity in the region, Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation 4G mobile towers, of which more than 320 have been completed and around 890 are under construction.

Earlier in the day, the Home Minister chaired the 25th meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council and held discussions on inter-state issues like operationalisation of coal mines, land and forest clearance of rail projects, investigation of heinous offences, cattle smuggling across country’s borders.

The meeting was held in the state secretariat Nabanna’s Sabhaghar. The participants comprised representatives of the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the Vice-Chairman and host of the event, while Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, and state ministers of Odisha were also present.

Two Cabinet Ministers from each state, as members of the Council, and the Chief Secretary and other senior officers of the states, Secretaries, additional secretaries, and other senior officers of the Central Government also attended the event.

Inter-State water issues, power transmission lines, royalty on and operationalization of coal mines, land and forest clearance of rail projects, investigation of heinous offences, cattle smuggling across country’s borders, lack of telecom and banking infrastructure in remote areas, petroleum projects, and sharing pattern on centrally collected revenues are also among the list of issues brought up for discussion in the meeting.