Shillong, Sep 3: The North Eastern Council (NEC) has released a total of Rs 9, 58, 86,765 crore during the month of August for four projects in Meghalaya.
The projects include setting up of 20 farmers market at Rs 50 lakh each, 10 farmers market at Rs 1 crore for one, community development programme for Tiwa (Lalung) Ri-Bhoi district at Rs 17.19 lakh and Rs 48.87 lakh for construction of school building at Mawthadraishan, West Khasi Hills district.
In addition, the NEC has released the second instalment of Rs 233 lakh for 17 physical scientific smoke houses for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.
The project originally sanctioned at Rs. 484.67 lakh aims to include introducing and standardising scientific and hygienic meat smoking practices to reduce the carcinogen and mutagen load in commercially produced smoked meats.
Annually, these units are expected to produce about 867 MT of dried pork, create 34 direct employment opportunities, and indirectly benefit 1,921 persons.
A significant outcome will be the reduction of carcinogens in meat products across the region, thereby lowering instances of Nasopharyngeal and Digestive Cancers and promoting healthier outcomes for consumers in the affected states.
During the same month, NERCORMS also completed a study on mobile and internet connectivity in North-East villages, providing key insights to strengthen digital infrastructure.
Two state-level workshops were also conducted in Meghalaya last month on conservation of indigenous fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants in East Khasi Hills at Rs 8 lakh and on Geographical Indication (GI) products and user authorisation for farmers at Rs 8.85 lakh.
