Shillong, Sep 15: The Meghalaya cabinet today approved the formation of the Meghalaya Integrated Transport Society (MITS) to develop a unified online platform for booking bus, taxi and helicopter tickets, besides other tourism-related services, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said.
Briefing reporters after the cabinet meeting, Sangma said the platform would provide citizens and tourists access to different transport services through a single application, with the government planning to support the technology partner for two years.
The platform will offer services similar to Uber and Rapido, but at lower technology charges to ensure transport operators retain a larger share of their earnings, he said.
“We have decided that we’ll support this agency for two years and then we will see and we’ll figure out how the revenue models come up and then we’ll take a call after two years,” Sangma said.
The CM said the government had discussed the proposal with taxi associations and other stakeholders, who had raised concerns over the 20-25 percent margins charged by existing technology platforms.
The new platform will be optional and transport operators can choose whether to register, he said.
On Rapido continuing to operate in Shillong, Sangma said the government had ordered that the online booking service stop for not registering with state authorities but he acknowledged the difficulty of completely preventing technology-based platforms from operating and admitted that the ride-hailing app continues to function in Meghalaya.
Sangma said the government was also looking at illegal operations by riders and drivers and urged them to register with the proposed MITS platform, which he said would provide a safer and legal alternative.
The cabinet also approved the creation of a dedicated civil aviation wing within the Transport Department to strengthen the administrative framework for the aviation sector.
The move comes amid the planned expansion of the Shillong Airport at Umroi, the expected arrival of larger flights, the proposed activation of Baljek Airport after the Airports Authority of India takes over and the development of heliports across the state.
The wing will also oversee activities linked to helicopter tourism, Sangma said.
Other decisions taken by the cabinet include one to set up a separate dam safety organisation to independently monitor the safety of dams in the state. Meghalaya has around 12-13 dams, and dam safety checks were earlier being handled by officials associated with the operation of the dams, including officials of Meghalaya Energy Corp Ltd (MeECL) and the Public Health Engineering Department.
The cabinet also approved the one-time regularisation of 11 female supervisors in the Social Welfare Department in compliance with an order of the Supreme Court.
Several retired officers also had their service extension approved in order for them to be engaged as consultants and advisers under externally aided projects and agencies. Sangma clarified that these were not regular government posts and would not affect promotion opportunities for serving junior officers.
The cabinet also approved amendments to the Meghalaya Excise Rules, 2026, including the reclassification of IMFL brands and revision of ad valorem duty. VAT and excise duty will now be combined into a single ad valorem tax handled by the Excise Department. The government expects the revised rates to generate additional revenue of around Rs 150 crore, he said.
The cabinet also approved amendments to the Meghalaya Film Tourism Policy 2025 to clarify eligibility criteria for financial incentives to filmmakers. Under the amended criteria, films made in regional languages will have to be screened in at least 100 theatres or released on a national-level OTT platform to qualify for the Rs 1 crore incentive.
The government also amended the condition for films released on Hello Meghalaya. Instead of requiring exclusive release on the platform, films will be allowed to be released on national platforms as well, provided they are dubbed in Khasi and Garo and made available on Hello Meghalaya.
The final decision was to fix the age of cessation of engagement of regular casual workers, casual workers and muster roll workers at 60 years. Currently, the age limit was 65 years for muster roll workers and 58 for regular casual workers.
