Gambagre, Sept 22: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma today inaugurated the Sewa Inland DREAM Rehabilitation Centre in Gambagre, under Rangsakona constituency of South West Garo Hills— the first government-supported rehabilitation facility in the Garo Hills region and the 15th such centre in Meghalaya overall.
The inauguration, held in the presence of Rangsakona MLA Subir Marak, and not far from outskirts of Tura, underscores the pace at which Meghalaya’s rehabilitation infrastructure has expanded. Before the DREAM Mission was launched, the state had just nine rehabilitation centres. That number has now grown to fifteen — ten of them government-supported — with more in the pipeline.
Alongside the new centre, the Chief Minister rolled out the state’s first comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for rehabilitation facilities, a framework designed to standardize care and accountability across both government and private centres. The SOPs cover everything from admission and discharge protocols to counselling, safety, staff conduct, and — notably — the dignity of those undergoing treatment.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Chief Minister framed the initiative as part of a broader governance philosophy his administration has followed since 2018 — one centered on the needs of specific groups such as youth, women, and farmers, rather than top-down schemes.
He was candid that infrastructure alone won’t solve the drug crisis. Real change, he said, depends on giving young people meaningful alternatives — pointing to libraries, sports, and community activities as tools to pull youth away from both substance abuse and mobile phone addiction. He specifically directed that the District Library in Tura be upgraded into a vibrant, child-friendly space, with plans to replicate the model across other districts.
The Chief Minister used the occasion to explain a new practice now being followed at government programmes: officials and elected representatives will no longer be felicitated at events they themselves are hosting.
“I feel very awkward when in my own programme, I am felicitating myself in my own programme. You can’t felicitate yourself in your own house. You felicitate your guest. We will never felicitate the Minister or the MLA, but we will felicitate the people from society who have contributed,” he said, describing it as a small but deliberate shift in mindset — a reminder that the government exists to serve, not to be celebrated.
A central theme of the Chief Minister’s remarks was convergence. He noted that anti-drug efforts had historically been siloed, with departments like Police, Health, Social Welfare, and Education operating independently of one another. The DREAM Mission — launched on June 26, 2023, and described as India’s only dedicated state-level mission against drug abuse — was created specifically to unite these efforts, alongside district administration and civil society.
In a state where land acquisition is a persistent bottleneck, the new centre was created by repurposing an existing Tribal Girls’ Hostel — a model the CM highlighted as a way to cut the time between project sanction and commissioning.
The facility will work in tandem with the existing Detoxification Centre at Tura Civil Hospital, splitting responsibilities between acute medical detox and longer-term psychosocial rehabilitation. It is run through a public-private partnership with the faith-based organisation Sewa Inland, which brings community trust and operational capacity while the government supplies infrastructure and support.
The centre is part of a broader set of initiatives under the DREAM Mission, including:
The Recovery Tracker Portal, launched June 26, 2026, for real-time bed availability across facilities
The upcoming DREAM Solace Home, described as Meghalaya’s first halfway home for those transitioning out of rehabilitation
NAVCHETNA, a school-based prevention module
A statewide drug abuse survey, conducted with Sankardev College
A specialised Narcotics K9 Unit with six sniffer dogs, strengthening enforcement capacity
During his address, the Chief Minister also spoke about a visit he made the previous day to the Maternity and Child Hospital in Tura. He commended the facility for its improved cleanliness but flagged the need for further upgrades — specifically calling for air conditioning to be installed in certain rooms and sections for the comfort of mothers recovering from childbirth.
“I must appreciate that the place is much cleaner than before. But in some rooms and sections, we need to put up air conditioning for the mothers. After so much physical strain and trauma they go through, we can at least provide them comfort. Necessities are more important than comfort, but we must try to work on both sides within our budget,” he said.
