Shillong, Jan 16: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma refuted Opposition’s criticism over cabinet retreat, saying it is an investment rather than wasteful expenditure.
“Everything is an expenditure, but if you ask me, this is an investment. Therefore, you can look at it from any other point of view. I have seen that criticism is always there, and I think it is important for us to see the larger goal and larger perspective,” Sangma told reporters before the start of the third cabinet retreat held at Orchid Resort, Mawkasiang under New Shillong Township on Friday.
The Chief Minister highlighted the outcomes of the first cabinet retreat at Sohra, citing education department’s presentation on ad hoc and SSA teachers.
“In the first cabinet retreat, the education department gave us a long presentation… We sat and looked at those numbers, and every single cabinet minister, every single officer was looking at this, and we made a decision to resolve this in 2025,” he said.
Sangma said the retreat led to a solution for the issue of ad hoc and SSA teachers, with the government working towards a deadline to address the problem.
“We are so happy to tell you that we have reached a conclusion. If the cabinet retreat had not taken place, we may not have resolved it,” he said.
The Chief Minister emphasized the importance of such retreats, saying, “I leave it to you to decide whether these kinds of things are important or not.” He urged critics to look at the larger perspective and outcomes of the retreat, rather than dismissing it as a wasteful expenditure.
“Every cabinet retreat has got a different theme to it, but the general objective is to align with the larger vision of the state government and to understand what every other department is doing,” he said.
The Chief Minister explained that the retreat is an opportunity for officials and ministers to understand the developmental programmes and activities of different departments.
“For example, in the PHE department one needs to know or be aware of what are the developmental programmes taking place in the water resources, in soil and water conservation, in the mining department, in forest department – because it is aligned with water.”
The retreat is focusing on the ten commitments and ten opportunities laid down in the state’s Vision 2028 and Vision 2032.
“We are trying to explain to people that while we are achieving and we are working towards achieving the 10 million dollar economy and 16 million dollar in 2032, how does tourism play a role, how does the PWD department play a role,” Sangma said.
The Chief Minister emphasized the importance of collaboration and open communication among departments. “The officials are free to ask any question and free to give any suggestion. It is like an open access medium where officials can give ideas as sometimes the best ideas come from the grassroots.”
The two-day retreat is expected to facilitate better governance and delivery of services to the people.
“We officially called it Team Meghalaya and Team Meghalaya should meet once in a while, talk to each other, discuss the problems of the state, align our visions, align our goals and see how different departments can work together to achieve the larger purpose of taking the state forward and giving better services to the people and the state,” Sangma added.
