Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh praises New Shillong Administrative City
Shillong, July 13: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has praised the New Shillong Administrative City as a model for future-ready governance as he inaugurated a national conference in the Shillong on Monday.
Meghalaya government’s ambitious New Shillong Administrative City as an example of how modern infrastructure can be integrated with digital governance and long-term administrative planning, the Union Minister said.
Highlighting Meghalaya’s role in governance innovation, the Union minister said the state had emerged as a model for community-led development and administrative reforms.
He also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent mention of Meghalaya’s Living Root Bridges in his Mann Ki Baat programme, saying the state was increasingly being recognised for blending tradition with innovation.
The Centre had already removed nearly 2,000 obsolete rules over the past decade and was now preparing for “next-generation” reforms that would integrate artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, cybersecurity and citizen-centric service delivery to realise the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047, he said.
The conference was jointly organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) and the Meghalaya government.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, DARPG Secretary Nivedita Shukla Verma, Meghalaya Chief Secretary Dr Shakil P Ahammed, Additional Secretary Puneet Yadav and senior officers from the Centre and states attended the inaugural session.
The conference has brought together senior officials, district collectors and policymakers from across the country to chart the next phase of administrative reforms.
Expressing confidence that the conference would culminate in a “Shillong Declaration 2.0”, similar to the earlier Shillong Declaration, Dr Singh said it would provide a fresh roadmap for governance reforms in the country.
Calling on states and Union Territories to adopt successful governance practices from one another, Dr Singh said the Shillong conference should serve as a platform to accelerate India’s transition towards faster, smarter and more citizen-centric administration.
