Meghalaya

Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Tuesday launched the "Achievers of the Month" programme, a flagship initiative to recognise outstanding individuals and promote entrepreneurship across Meghalaya. The programme will provide a platform for achievers from various sectors to share their success stories, inspire others and highlight the impact of government support in fostering innovation and enterprise. Launching the initiative, Sangma said the government's role is to create an enabling environment through policies, infrastructure and support systems, while entrepreneurship remains the key driver of economic growth and sustainable livelihoods. He announced that July would be dedicated to entrepreneurs, with storytelling sessions and outreach programmes planned to showcase their journeys....

Cabinet Minister Sanbor Shullai has petitioned Meghalaya Governor CH Vijayashankar to withhold assent to the Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Trading by Non-Tribals) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, saying the legislation is “ultra vires” the Constitution and outside the KHADC’s jurisdiction. In his representation submitted Monday, Shullai objected to the provision that “seeks to make it mandatory for every genuine non-tribal employer to obtain a service license for the employment of genuine non-tribal personnel.” “On behalf of the South Shillong Advisory, we crave leave to bring to your urgent notice our grave concerns regarding the Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Trading by Non-Tribals) (Amendment) Bill, 2026,” he wrote. “It is our submission that this Bill severely overreaches the est...

The Meghalaya High Court on Monday upheld a Shillong court's April 2026 order granting bail to Sonam Raghuvanshi, the prime accused in the alleged murder of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, during their honeymoon in Meghalaya last year. A single bench of Justice W. Diengdoh dismissed the state government's appeal challenging the bail order. The court had reserved its verdict on June 10 after hearing arguments from both sides over a period of more than 10 days. A detailed judgment is awaited. Sonam was granted bail by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Judicial), Shillong, primarily on the ground that the investigating agency had failed to properly communicate the grounds of her arrest, thereby prejudicing her legal defence. The trial court had observed that police documents, inclu...

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has commenced across Meghalaya from June 30, marking the beginning of a month-long door-to-door verification exercise aimed at updating and improving the accuracy of the state’s voter database. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit households across all 60 Assembly constituencies until July 29 as part of the Election Commission’s nationwide initiative to ensure that electoral rolls remain accurate, updated, and free from errors ahead of future elections. The verification process will use the 2005 electoral rolls as the reference point for identifying and updating voter records. During the drive, BLOs will distribute self-enumeration forms to eligible electors and assist in verifying personal details, making corrections where r...

BJP legislator and Pynthorumkhrah MLA AL Hek on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been sending “marathons of union ministers” to Meghalaya with development packages, and it is now up to the state government to ensure those schemes are implemented on the ground. “I would like to thank the prime minister for sending marathons of union ministers to Meghalaya with packages for development. Now it is the responsibility of our state government to implement those packages that have been sent through the NDA government,” Hek told reporters. “Any political party can take credit, but everybody knows these are all schemes coming from the Prime Minister of BJP. He is the prime minister of the NDA, of course, but he is from the BJP. So whatever has been done is due to the blessing of ...

The East Khasi Hills district administration will begin a month-long house-to-house verification drive from June 30 as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll directed by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Addressing the media, Deputy Commissioner Abhilash Barnwal said Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit all 1,021 polling stations across the district to distribute pre-filled self-enumeration forms to voters whose names appear in the 2025 electoral roll. The final revised electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 7, 2026 Speaking on the process, Barnwal clarified that electors are not required to submit any documents during the enumeration stage. "The electors are only supposed to deposit their properly filled self-enumeration form. That i...

Meghalaya has unveiled an ambitious ₹295-crore expansion of its organic farming programme and forged new international partnerships to position women farmers at the centre of sustainable agriculture and global value chains. The announcements came at the conclusion of the two-day International Conference on Women Farmers and Sustainable Organic Agriculture, organised by the Meghalaya Natural and Organic Farming Society for Livelihood and Innovation in Agriculture (MEGNOLIA) in collaboration with IFOAM Organics Asia and the German development bank KfW Development Bank in Shillong. The conference concluded on June 27. Held under the United Nations’ International Year of the Woman Farmer theme, “Women Farmers Leading Change Globally for Organic Food Systems,” the conference brought toge...

The Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW) has held four former office-bearers of the Meghalaya Cricket Association (MCA) responsible for failing to act on sexual harassment complaints filed by members of the state's Under-23 women's cricket team, directing disciplinary proceedings and sweeping institutional reforms under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The latest order, issued on June 26, follows the commission's earlier finding that former head coach Hemant Roy and former team manager Sanjay Mondal were guilty of sexual harassment. This order shifts the focus to what the commission described as "institutional/vicarious accountability" and examines whether the MCA fulfilled its legal obligations as an employer under t...

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma visited the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) of Telangana in Hyderabad and described it as one of the best in the country. He said Meghalaya would seek to replicate aspects of the model. "Impressed by the systems and seamless coordination at the Telangana Integrated Command and Control Centre in Hyderabad. It demonstrates how technology, data, and inter-departmental collaboration can come together to deliver more efficient and responsive public services," Sangma said."The Centre serves as an excellent model for states across India, including Meghalaya, as we work towards leveraging technology to improve governance and citizen service delivery. Glad to have witnessed its functioning firsthand and to learn from its best practices," h...

The Meghalaya zoological authorities have successfully released a rescued Chinese pangolin and an Asian palm civet back into their natural habitat after completing a period of rehabilitation. The release marks another step in the state’s ongoing efforts to protect and conserve endangered wildlife species. According to officials, both animals were rescued earlier in separate operations after being found in vulnerable conditions. They were subsequently brought to the zoo facility for medical care, observation, and rehabilitation to ensure they were fit for survival in the wild. After a thorough health assessment and behavioural evaluation, forest and zoo authorities determined that both animals had regained sufficient strength and were ready for release. The animals were then carefull...