Editor,
Congratulations on the victory of Conrad Sangma and NPP in the recent Assembly polls and on Sangma’s stint as the Chief Minister for the second term. The MDA government, under his able leadership, has done satisfactorily well across the board and throughout the state in the last term. The general public has great expectations from MDA 2.0 to step things up in the new term.
Drawing Sangma’s attention to his constituency, to Tura, as he is aware it is the aspiration and long-standing petition of the people of Tura and wider Garo Hills to make Tura the winter capital of Meghalaya. This is long overdue and has been disregarded by successive governments. This is nothing short of an injustice to the people of Tura and Garo Hills. Here are the key observations:
Background:
- a) At the time of forming the State, the government at the time agreed to make Tura the winter capital and the proposal was passed to that effect. Therefore, this is not a demand, rather a fulfillment of the existing bill.
- b) Creation of capital/s is a State affair as provisioned by Article 154(1) of the Indian Constitution, decided by the State cabinet and signed off by the Governor. It is attainable and fairly straightforward from a process standpoint.
Reasons/Justifications:
- a) The Garos are very different from Khasis/Jaintias ethnically, culturally, and linguistically. In the current set up with Shillong as the capital, the statehood has mainly benefited the Khasi/Jaintia communities only whilst the Garos and Garo Hills are largely neglected deprived of basic facilities and infrastructure. Because the State of Meghalaya comprises very different ethnic groups, there needs to be fair and equal treatment.
- b) The current state capital is located very far for the general public of Garo Hills, and accessing the capital is not practical and feasible economically as well as for daily needs of the public in Garo Hills.
- c) Having Tura as the winter capital will bring ease of administration, governance closer to the public of Garo Hills, economic growth and development to the region. And, it will ensure policies are drawn up equally and in parallel for both Garo Hills and Khasi/Jaintia Hills regions.
Remarks:
There are several examples of Indian states having multiple capitals. Andhra Pradesh has three, Himachal Pradesh two, Jammu & Kashmir two, Karnataka two and Maharashtra two.
These states have adopted the model for efficient and fair governance considering the social and ethnic diversity amongst other reasons. In the spirit of equality and fairness, Tura must be made the winter capital of Meghalaya as the State owes it to the general public of Tura and wider Garo Hills since the last 50 years.
In closing, this is an appeal to the Chief Minister to exercise his political will to fulfill this long-standing petition and to demonstrate his conviction to the people of Tura who have trusted and given him another opportunity to serve. I’m looking forward to seeing the ball rolling.
Eric
Via e-mail
