Politics / Meghalaya

Imphal, June 25: Even as neighboring States like Nagaland and Meghalaya have worked out the model for the impending Ministry downsizing which will come into force from July 7, the Congress led SPF Government is still groping in the dark waiting for a nod at New Delhi from the AICC high command to the model worked out by the Steering Committee of the ruling Front. Chief Minister O Ibobi who left for New Delhi to meet AICC president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to get their approval to the model worked out here is yet to be granted an audience by the two most important persons...

Shillong, June 25: Wary of offending any of his coalition partners while reducing the size of his government, Meghalaya chief minister D.D. Lapang is toying with the idea of creating three new welfare boards to accommodate ministry bigwigs who may have to be relieved of their portfolios. The ministry, with 41 members, is a massive one for a state that has only 60 legislators. The size of the ministry has to be reduced to 12 by July 6.

Sources said Lapang had already discussed the possibility of forming these new boards with leaders of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA). The...

TURA, June 24 – The banned A’chik National Volunteers Council (ANVC), which is suspected to be behind the kidnapping of Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Balpakram National Park, D Sathiyan, from Baghmara town on June 18, has denied any hand in the abduction. Informing this, the publicity secretary of the ANVC, Arist Sengsrang Sangma, said that the outfit had no connection with the incident and came to know of the abduction from newspaper reports. “We have no idea about the incident but we cannot rule out the involvement of other groups,” said Arist Sengsrang. He also criticised the Meghalaya...

SHILLONG, June 24 –Meghalaya government Tuesday said that it intended to pursue for setting up of an ‘independent’ High Court for the State, reports PTI. Law Minister BG Momin told this to Opposition NCP MLA Ardhendu Chaudhuri in the State Assembly during Question Hour.

However, there was no proposal to set up a single or full bench of the High Court at Tura in Garo Hills, Momin said replying to a supplementary. He said the place of the independent High Court would normally be the state headquarters. Meghalaya, along with some of the other neighbouring North Eastern states, is currently...

Shillong, June 23: More than 30 ministers of the Congress led-Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) have resigned to provide chief minister D.D. Lapang room to reconstitute his government. The members of the coalition partners in the cabinet had recently decided to quit en masse so that Lapang would not have to drop his ministers to comply with the downsizing law.

According to the latest law passed by Parliament, the Meghalaya cabinet can have only 12 members, which means that the ruling MDA has to downsize its ministry from the existing 41 in a House of 60. The deadline for finalising the new...

SHILLONG, June 23 – Meghalaya Assembly Wednesday elected unopposed senior Congress member Phing Well Muktieh as its Deputy Speaker, a post lying vacant since elections in the State during early 2003, reports PTI.

Muktieh, the Soil Conservation minister, representing Mawhati (ST) constituency, was declared elected by Speaker Martin M Danggo in the assembly.

Danggo said only Muktieh's nomination, proposed by Congress member Charles Pyngrope and seconded by United Democratic Party leader and Deputy Chief Minister Donkupar Roy was received by his office yesterday.

“The nomination paper was...

SHILLONG, June 23 – Majority of 41-member Meghalaya council of Ministers today tendered their registration letters to Chief Minister DD Lapang to enable him to complete the mandatory ministry down-sizing exercise before the July 5 deadline.

Confirming the receipt of the registration letters, sources close to the Chief Minister said “a handful of Ministers who are yet to submit their papers are expected to comply with the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) resolution asking all the Ministers to submit their resignations by June 25 to facilitate Lapang to carry out the exercise smoothly”.

The...

SHILLONG, June 22– Meghalaya Government on Wednesday decided to implement a ‘golden handshake’ scheme for the employees of loss-making Meghalaya Transport Corporation at a cost of Rs. 13.52 crore. After a Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister DD Lapang, told reporters that altogether 216 out of over 600 employees of the MTC have ‘accpeted’ the offer of golden handshake given to them by the government earlier.

The scheme would be implemented immediately, he said. Lapang said another 150 employees of the MTC were reportedly willing to come forward to accept the scheme. The Chief Minister said the...

SHILLONG, June 21 – Meghalaya assembly today deferred a privilege motion against an NCP member questioning ‘impartiality’ of the Speaker as the latter had sought the postponement saying he was not keeping good health. Speaker Martin M Danggo, who was to take up the matter today, informed the House his receiving a letter from NCP MLA Edmund Sangma requesting him to defer the privilege motion against him as he was ‘not well and undergoing treatment’ at the hospital.

Quoting a relevant rule, Danggo announced the deferment of the motion 'on any day within the session'. Earlier, the mover of the...

SHILLONG, June 20 – A deposited rocket launcher or a snifer rifle would make a surrendered militant in Meghalaya richer by Rs 25,000, while laying down an AK-assault rifle would fetch him Rs 15,000, as fixed in a rehabilitation package by state government, reports PTI. The scheme for surrender-cum-rehabilitation of militants in the state, tabled in the Assembly here Friday by Chief Minister D D Lapang, announced incentives for the laid down weapons and ammunition.

As per the scheme, a surrendered activist would get Rs 10,000 for a carbine/SLR, Rs 5,000 for a stengun and long-range wireless...