After other political parties criticised the distribution of FOCUS and FOCUS+ scheme benefits to non-farming communities when it has been touted as a programme to held farmers, incumbent East Shillong MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh has explained that the government initiative’s remit has been expanded to cover other groups.
Even member parties of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), such as the United Democratic Party (UDP) have openly questioned why FOCUS (which is meant to stand for Farmers Collectivization For Upscaling Production and Marketing System, although it is not a direct acronym) is being given out to residents of urban constituencies. They have accused the National People’s Party (NPP), the senior member of the MDA, of trying to cash in on the scheme to win votes, a charge the NPP denies.
“The FOCUS+ policy is wider and it is an expanded outreach of FOCUS where small entrepreneurs, small shops and individual families engage in economic generation for households,” Lyngdoh, a fairly recent member of the NPP, told Highland Post.
When asked of the various criticisms coming from the coalition partners in the MDA, she said that all of them were privy to the policy of FOCUS+ and were part of the cabinet when they agreed to it.
“If they say that they don’t know, then that is something that I cannot comment on but those who know have all availed because the beneficiaries are eligible,” she added.
Stating that schemes that are for the overall benefit of all citizens should be cherished, she also said that there is no point in finding fault now when for five years the members of the MDA coalition have worked together.
When asked if Meghalaya will again see a coalition government following the February 27 state election, she urged the people to unite and deliver a one party government that can take far more productive decisions than a coalition.
