Tura MDC and former leader of the ANVC(B) militant group, Bernard N Marak, has requested that stalled projects that were part of the peace deal between his rebel outfit and the state and central governments by restarted.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MDC said today that several projects under the Agreed Text for Settlement (ATS), including the Baljek Airport, an engineering college and health complex, which had been abandoned, are slated to resume work in the coming weeks.
“Since 2014, the central government has allocated significant funds to the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) and the state government to enhance health, education, road infrastructure, forestry, art and culture,” Marak said today. “Representatives of the ATS signatories conducted site visits to ongoing projects in Garo Hills. Following the signing of the Agreement with ANVC and ANVC(B) groups in 2014, the central government sanctioned numerous major projects.”
A monitoring committee met every six months but these meetings were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and did not resume until last September when signatories decided to physically monitor ongoing and completed projects and verify submitted reports.
Some of these projects include Captain Williamson State University, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tura Medical College, Baljek Airport, polytechnic colleges, civil hospitals, maternity and child health hospitals, sub-division hospitals, an integrated health complex (IHC), highways, Engineering College in Ampati, art and culture centres in Garo Hills, district auditorium, district libraries, museum, Tribal Research Institute, nursing colleges, creation of new districts, sub-divisions, and Community and Rural Development Blocks.
“While some site visits were productive, others were marked by disappointment over abandoned projects and substandard work. ATS signatories have urged for the resumption of abandoned projects, including the airport, hospital, engineering college and IHC, with additional funding, and have recommended thorough investigations and inquiries into certain projects,” Marak said.
Further monitoring visits are planned for the coming weeks, covering the remaining districts of East, North and South Garo Hills. A report detailing each visit’s findings will be submitted to the Union Home Ministry in the coming days and the government is expected to provide full support to ongoing projects.
