It is unsurprising that Meghalaya is having to wait for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state, as others in the North East also had a long wait before the central government acquiesced in granting it to them, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said here today.
However, the state government is committed to getting ILP for the state and Sangma reminded the public, while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Meghalaya Day celebrations, that his government is the first to have passed a resolution in the Assembly calling for the permit system. The resolution was passed unanimously in the Assembly in December 2019.
While stating that several meetings have been held with the Centre in New Delhi, he added, “We have worked towards moving and achieving this goal (ILP) but it is a process that does take time and many other states have done this and it also took time for them.”
The Meghalaya cabinet is hoping to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah when he travels to Shillong for a North East Council function on Saturday. Sangma also expressed confidence that Shah will grant audiences to pressure groups that have also requested meetings with the senior figure from the Centre.
Meanwhile, on other issues that plague Meghalaya as it enters its 50th year, the CM said that a meeting will be held with his counterpart from Assam only after the latter state’s general election to discuss the disputed border issue.
When asked about the transit camp constructed by the Assam government on Meghalaya territory in Khanapara, the CM said that the Chief Secretary of Meghalaya has been told to coordinate with his counterpart in Assam and the matter will be solved between the two.
