Shillong, Feb 26: Efforts to tackle unemployment are “on the right track”, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said in the Assembly today even though statistics from two different bodies show an increase in the jobless rate.
Responding to queries raised by opposition MLA Dr Mizanur Kazi of the Trinamool Congress during the Budget Session today, Sangma said the government relies on the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for official policy formulation, while also acknowledging figures released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).
As per PLFS data cited by the CM, Meghalaya’s unemployment rate stood at 6.0 per cent in 2022–23 and rose slightly to 6.2 per cent in 2023–24. In contrast, CMIE data placed the state’s unemployment rate at 2.6 per cent in 2022–23 and 3.1 per cent in 2023–24.
Sangma pointed out that survey-based estimates can vary significantly depending on sample size and methodology, noting a difference of nearly 3 percentage points between the two agencies.
Kazi questioned whether the apparent rise in unemployment despite multiple government interventions indicated a policy failure. In response, Sangma cautioned against drawing such conclusions, stating that while there had been a slight increase according to both datasets, the broader context must be considered.
He informed the house that approximately 3.66 lakh job opportunities had been created through various government interventions, in line with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms. “Have these programmes achieved the full goal that we would want? Maybe not. Does more need to be done? Maybe yes. But we are very sure that we are on the right track,” he said, adding that the figures might have been worse had these schemes not been implemented.
Highlighting the demographic challenge, Sangma noted that nearly 50 per cent of Meghalaya’s population is below the age of 20, amounting to around 18 lakh youths. “These are real challenges. It’s not Meghalaya alone – every state faces this because India is a young country,” he said.
Sangma listed several flagship initiatives aimed at boosting employment and self-employment, some initiated by the state and others by the central government.
On the FOCUS scheme for farmers, the CM said Rs 140 crore has been sanctioned, benefitting 22,500 producer groups and 2.1 lakh individuals. Under FOCUS+, Rs 121.7 crore has been sanctioned and released, covering 1.5 lakh beneficiaries. He explained that the scheme provides working capital support to producer groups for basic needs such as planting materials, transportation, irrigation pipes and storage, which in turn helps enhance production and income. According to him, many beneficiaries have testified to having doubled their income as a result.
Addressing concerns over accessibility of self-employment schemes for economically weaker sections, Sangma said CM Elevate – an umbrella programme with multiple sub-schemes – was designed to be simple and inclusive. He said nearly 20,000 applications were received within 20 days of the portal’s launch, surpassing the three-year target of 20,000 applications. The application process is routed through the Meghalaya One portal.
Kazi also raised concerns about lack of infrastructure and sanctioned posts for local language instruction in parts of West Garo Hills, arguing that youth from those areas could be disadvantaged in government recruitment due to new language proficiency requirements.
Sangma reiterated the government’s commitment to promoting Khasi and Garo as associate official languages and defended the requirement of basic language proficiency for government jobs in respective regions. He clarified that the intention was not to marginalise anyone but to ensure that government employees can effectively communicate with the local population.
However, in response to Kazi’s reference to a January 12 advertisement that included grammar and composition in the syllabus, Sangma said he would examine the notification to assess whether the level prescribed exceeded the government’s original intent of ensuring only basic proficiency. He maintained that the policy decision would not be rolled back but assured that the matter would be looked into.
Mawkyrwat MLA Renikton L Tongkhar of the United Democratic Party (which is part of the ruling coalition) urged the government to consider reducing departmental execution of works and instead provide more contracts to local contractors to generate employment. Sangma said the suggestion was valid but stressed the need to balance cost efficiency and quality.
