CM Conrad admits to Meghalaya's poor Niti Aayog ranking, says govt taking steps to improve situation

Admitting to Niti Aayog's ranking of Meghalaya as one of the poorest states in the country, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma assured that the state's situation will improve in the next five years.

Meghalaya has been ranked among the five poorest states in India in the 'National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): A Progress Review 2023' report released by Niti Aayog on July 17.

The chief minister said he accepted the report and admitted that even if action has been taken, the results may take some time to be seen.

“We have to accept we have challenges and are lagging behind. We have to start by accepting where we are, what are the challenges we face and work towards improving them,” Conrad told PTI.

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He said, “All steps we have taken in the last five years have been towards improving the situation. I am sure that in the next five years, we will see a huge improvement in these numbers.”

The CM said though the state has a lot of challenges, there are areas where the government has achieved success.

He highlighted how the state, which was ranked 27th in vaccination in 2018, is today ranked 2nd in the country.

“This is because we made a very strong effort. Maternal mortality rate was very high earlier. But in the last five years, we have brought it down by almost 45-50% per cent,” he said.

He informed that the state's actual expenditures crossed Rs 17,000 crore in 2023, a quantum jump from Rs 9,000 crore five years ago.

Highlighting the state's FOCUS and FOCUS+ programmes and the different mission-mode schemes for the benefit of farmers, the chief minister said these have directly impacted the economic condition of people.

“Now, do they yield immediate results? It is not easy. It takes time. Everything takes time. But are we taking the necessary steps? We are. Are we seeing a change? Yes, we are. Will we be able to jump the ranks? We will,” the CM added.

Reacting to the Niti Aayog report, the BJP, which is a coalition partner of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance 2.0, said the agency has “pointed out correctly” in its ranking.

BJP vice president and a member of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council Bernard Marak said, “That a state has to be ranked as the poorest state by Niti Ayog is unfortunate, but it also gave a glimpse of where our state stands in the country's chart in spite of tremendous funds being pumped for all-round development.”

He claimed that though the Central government made efforts to uplift the poor through various schemes in the state, targeted groups allegedly failed to get the benefits.

He said the amount of money sent through the state and the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) for the implementation of various schemes is below expectations and has been noted by the Niti Aayog.