Meghalaya

Former Nongthymmai MLA and UDP General Secretary Dr Jemino Mawthoh has returned to active politics by formally joining the BJP in Shillong on Saturday. He was welcomed by Meghalaya BJP president Rikman G Momin in the presence of senior leaders AL Hek and MH Kharkrang. Mawthoh, who also contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election, was accompanied by family members and supporters.

The Meghalaya SSA Schools Association (MSSASA) Central Body has opposed the Voice of the People Party’s (VPP) demand for the removal of Education Commissioner and Secretary Vijay Kumar Mantri, terming the demand “unfair”. MSSASA president Aristotle C. Rymbai said Mantri was being unfairly singled out for implementing government decisions after due process, asserting that the officer has instead been responsive to the concerns of the teaching community and committed to advancing education reforms in Meghalaya. Rymbai said Mantri has been “hardworking, dedicated and committed” to bringing reforms to Meghalaya’s education sector and has been responsive to grievances raised by the teaching community. The Education Commissioner was implementing policies and decisions taken by the gove...

Senior BJP leader and Pynthorumkhrah MLA AL Hek has told Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the changing political landscape in Meghalaya presents an opportunity for the BJP to emerge as an independent political force and ultimately form its own government in the state. Hek met Shah and held what he described as a detailed discussion on the political situation in Meghalaya and the road ahead, during which he shared his assessment of the emerging political scenario and the BJP's vision for the coming days. In a statement following the meeting, Hek said they discussed the "growing political space and the clear opportunity before us to build a strong, credible and independent political force in Meghalaya."Hek said he sought Shah's "guidance, encouragement and blessings" as the BJP work...

Ending weeks of speculation, Mawsynram MLA Ollan Singh Suin on Friday broke his silence, saying that eight UDP MLAs are ready to join the BJP if the party’s central leadership agrees to their demands, bringing some clarity to speculation over a possible switch. Speaking after the UDP’s emergency CEC meeting, Suin clarified that the group comprises eight MLAs, not nine, as widely reported. The group wants Khasi to be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, restrictions on coal mining in Meghalaya to be lifted and action taken on FCRA-related issues. They are also seeking the implementation of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA). Suin said the group would take up these demands with the BJP’s central leadership and indicated that their decision to...

The Meghalaya High Court has directed the state government to identify potential holding or detention centres within one week to house foreign prisoners who remain incarcerated in state jails despite having completed their sentences. During a hearing presided over by Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice W Diengdoh, Additional Advocate General K. Khan informed the court that the Home Department would identify these centres and file an affidavit detailing the roadmap for their establishment. The High Court firmly rejected the state's prior justification that foreigners were kept in prison due to a lack of dedicated holding facilities, citing Supreme Court rulings that deem such prolonged incarceration illegal. The urgency of the matter was further heightened after discrepancies emer...

5Sutnga-Saipung legislator Santa Mary Shylla on Thursday said the Union Ministry of Mines has responded positively to the stategovernment'sdemand for feasible norms for scientific coal mining in Meghalaya.Local Business DirectoryShylla said this after attending a meeting in Delhi chaired by Rupinder Brar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Mines. Meghalaya Law Secretary CVD Diengdoh, officials of the Directorate of Mineral Resources and CMPDIL also attended the meeting. "It was a very positive and progressive meeting. Our officers have been following up the matter of scientific mining. Presentations were made from both sides, including by CMPDIL on what is feasible in Meghalaya, especially in East Jaintia Hills," she said. According to Shylla, the central officials have agreed to ...

The state government has created 236 posts for courts across Meghalaya and released Rs 1.28 crore towards travel allowance bills, the Meghalaya High Court was informed on Thursday. AAG T Yangi B made the submission before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice W Diengdoh during hearing of a writ petition. She said the government has complied with the High Court’s request for creation of posts and an Office Memorandum has been issued for the Rs 50 lakh medical corpus fund, which will be transferred within a week. The AAG said most pending bills from 2014 to 2022 have been cleared and Rs 1.28 crore has been sanctioned and disbursed to the DDO for TA bills. On revision of law clerks’ remuneration, she said the proposal has been approved in principle an...

Setting a milestone in reforming Meghalaya’s recruitment policy, the state government has officially scrapped holding of personal interviews for Group C non-technical posts. “The Governor is pleased to order discontinuation of interviews for direct recruitment to Group C non-technical posts falling under Pay Level 2 to Level 10,” stated an office memorandum issued by the Personnel and Administrative Reforms (B) Department on Thursday. Coming into effect from January 1, 2027, the order will apply to posts advertised on or after that date. The move is in continuation of the department’s memorandum of July 29 last year, which had scrapped interviews for Group D posts from October 1, 2025, and is in line with the reform introduced by the Centre in 2015. It has directed all departm...

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday, September 9, sought an additional allocation of Rs 10,000 crore for the state under the Externally Aided Projects (EAP) window during a meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi. Sangma, who was accompanied by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, discussed issues related to EAPs for Meghalaya and the Northeast region with Sitharaman. “Met the Hon'ble Union Finance Minister, Smti @nsitharaman ji along with the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Assam, Dr. @himantabiswa ji to discuss matters relating to Externally Aided Projects,” Sangma said in a social media post. He also thanked Sitharaman for her continued support for the aspirations of Meghalaya and the Northeast. A senior state Finance Department ...

Meghalaya Labour Minister Methodius Dkhar on September 9 launched amended rules for the registration and protection of migrant workers, saying the framework would help the government identify their workplaces and provide assistance during emergencies. Speaking at a state-level launch-cum-orientation programme on the amended Meghalaya Identification, Registration, Safety and Security of Migrant Workers (MIRSS) Rules, 2020, Dkhar said registration should strengthen worker welfare without creating unnecessary hurdles for workers or employers. “Registration is important because it enables the government to know where migrant workers are employed and to assist them during emergencies,” Dkhar said, adding that the process should not become a tool for harassment. The amended rules were ...