Meghalaya cabinet meets at Jowai, clears proposal to set up

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma held a cabinet meeting at Jowai in West Jaintia Hills district on Tuesday and cleared the proposal to set up nine community colleges in the state.

This is for the second time that the state cabinet meeting was held outside the state capital. Last year a cabinet meeting was held on Tura.

The chief minister said holding cabinet meetings outside the state capital will allow government to focus on very specific issues that would further strengthen the process of delivery of government programmes and interventions.

Education Minister Lakmen Rymbui said the cabinet cleared proposal to set up nine community colleges across the state.

The chief minister announced a nine-day tourism event which will be held at the picturesque Thadlaskein Lake.

Sangma said the nine-day "Meghalayan Age Festival" will be held in the second week of March will promote high-end tourism.

"We are putting different activities, music and cultural events to make this event a memorable one," he said.

The cabinet ministers of the coalitions Peoples Democratic Front and those of the Hills State Peoples Democratic Party and the BJP were absent in the meeting.

The chief minister said some of the ministers were absent due to personal reasons.

After the cabinet meeting, the chief minister held separate meeting with members of Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) and the local MLA of the region, where decisions on key projects and initiatives for Jaintia Hills were discussed.