EAPs worth Rs 1,300 cr in 2018 increases to Rs 11,324 cr in 7 years
Shillong, Sep 11: The volume of externally aided projects (EAPs) in Meghalaya has gone up to Rs 11,324 crore in the past seven years, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma told the Assembly on Thursday.
“Overall implementation of different EAPs has in fact been going on very well and even the results have been very good and that in fact has led to the EAPs to increase from Rs 1,300 crore in 2018 to Rs 11,324 crore, which is almost 10 times in the past 7 years,” Conrad said in reply to a query.
He also asserted that the 10-fold increase in EAPs is a testament to the fact that the government has been able to implement the EAPs in a very efficient manner.
Clarifying that EAPs comprise a 72% grant component, which is repaid by the Government of India, and 28% contribution from the state government, the Chief Minister said, “Implementation of EAPs is transparent, with all information available on the websites of the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) and Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (MBMA).
Meanwhile, the government is engaged with all stakeholders, including MLAs, to ensure that the projects benefit the people of the state, he said.
The chief minister also suggested converging the MLA and SRWP schemes with the MBMA to achieve better results.
The government has tabled the MBMA report in the Assembly and will soon table the MBDA reports, demonstrating its commitment to transparency and accountability.
According to him, the government plans to explore ways to converge different schemes and projects to maximize benefits for the people of Meghalaya.
The chief minister has also invited suggestions from the Leader of Opposition and other stakeholders to further improve the implementation of EAPs.
He stressed the importance of converging MLA schemes with other initiatives, such as SRWP, to maximize benefits for the state’s residents.
He expressed concerns about the perceived lack of coordination between the district administration and MLAs, which might lead to flip-flops in project implementation.
