SHILLONG, Jan 4 — Meghalaya government has appointed additional chief secretary J Tayeng as the chief secretary after the recent transfer of the erstwhile incumbent JP Singh, who was a part in the MoU for the controversial Meghalaya House deal in Kolkata, official sources said Friday, reports PTI. The Meghalaya House deal had brought down the EK Mawlong government in his State in the first week of December. Singh has now been appointed as the chairman, Board of Revenue and Administrative Reforms, a post earlier held by Tayeng. He will continue to hold posts as chairman, Meghalaya Transport...

NEW DELHI, Jan 4 — Confusion has again enveloped the Naga peace process, with a fuming NSCN(I-M) denying having softened its stand on the issue of sovereignty. The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, I D Swami unwittingly may have let the cat out of the bag, when he disclosed, what the Union government has been hinting that the NSCN(I-M) has dropped the demand for sovereignty. The statement vehemently denied by the NSCN (I-M) general secretary, Th Muivah himself may not have come at a worse time for the Naga oufit. What is significant is that despite the NSCN(I-M) blasting the Union...

GUWAHATI, Jan 4 — The State government under leadership of the Chief Minister, Sri Tarun Gogoi will continue its efforts to facilitate negotiation with the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to find an amicable solution to the insurgency problem in the state. During an informal chat with a few journalists after the foundation laying ceremony of K D Malaviya National Museum here on Thursday, the Chief Minister Sri Gogoi stated that his government had remained undeterred in its efforts to bring ULFA leadership to negotiation table despite the latter’s ‘no’ to the safe passage...

GUWAHATI, Jan 4 — Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Sri Ram Naik today announced that Government of India had decided to reduce the excise duty by 50 per cent of the total output of Digboi Refinery which had a successful run for 100 years. Announcing this while inaugurating the solvent dewaxing plant of the refinery of Indian Oil Corporation on the occasion of its centenary celebration, the Union Minister stated that the special concession to Digboi Refinery was on the pattern of relief available to Numaligarh Refinery Limited. He stated that the relief on excise duty would help...

SHILLONG, Jan 3 — The North Eastern Council (NEC) has approved Rs 2382 lakh and sanctioned for release of Rs 261 lakh for implementation of various schemes in different constituent states of Northeastern region during the months of November and December, 2001, NEC sources said, reports PTI. Among the Northeastern states, Rs 441.10 lakh was approved for Arunachal Pradesh, Rs 1672.58 lakh was for Assam, Rs 18.77 lakh for Manipur and rest for Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, the sources said. The NEC has sanctioned for the payment of Rs 26 lakh to the Registrar, Delhi University for...