The Hindu Business Line : Meghalaya to give top priority to infrastructure

The development of infrastructure, particularly the issue of connectivity to and from the State, is being given top priority by the Meghalaya Government, according to its Chief Secretary, Mr Ranjan Chatterjee.

Airport expansion

Talking to Business Line here on Friday, Mr Chatterjee identified several projects including the expansion of the State’s only airport at Umroi, establishment of rail network and widening of the National Highway (No. 37) which had been taken up with the appropriate authorities in New Delhi for quick implementation.

“At present, the Umroi airport is small, suited for 56-seater aircraft, but we would like it to expand to handle bigger aircraft of Airbus 320 type”, Mr Chatterjee said pointing out that the land acquisition, now in progress, should be over shortly and the work would be taken up immediately after that.

Time-frame

“We’ve set a target of 24 months from the zero date for completion of work and hopefully, the expanded airport capacity should be ready for operation by the end of 2010”, he said.

The cost of land acquisition was estimated at Rs 20 crore and the expansion work at Rs 120 crore. “Money is being provided by the Union Government in one form or another”, he said.

Railway projects

Among the railway projects being pushed through by the State Government were Ajara (near Guwahati)-Byrnihat-Nongpo-Shillong line, Dudhnoi-Depa line in Garo Hills, extension of the Lumding-Silchar line to cover Jayantia Hills and construction of lines along the border with Bangladesh covering such places as Dawki Shella etc. to boost border trade.

“Of these, only the first one, i.e. Ajara-Byrnihat is a sanctioned project and we’ve taken up with the Northeast Frontier Railway to expedite its implementation.

Road sector

The work on the four-laning of the 80-km stretch of the National Highway 37 between Jorbat and Shillong, which has been taken up by the National Highway Authority of India, should, according to the Chief Secretary, be over in next two to three years.

“Alignment is already there and land acquisition will not be needed over the entire stretch”, he observed.

Funds for implementing all these projects, Mr Chatterjee said, would not be a problem. “The State Government having no funds, all these projects will be implemented by various agencies of the Union Government”, he said. Also, land and order situation in the State is peaceful. “Our only concern is that it being a hilly terrain, mobilising men, materials and machines is often not easy”, he added.

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