Meghalaya

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 ...

At least 384 electors have so far been found ineligible after scrutiny and hearings under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Meghalaya. Chief Electoral Officer B.D.R. Tiwari told a press conference here on Tuesday that 2,08,870 hearings had been conducted so far, covering 32.05 per cent of the 6,51,735 notices generated under the revision. The figures came as the Election Commission extended Meghalaya's SIR timeline by 14 days, giving electors more time to file claims and objections after delays caused by last month's situation in Shillong and other parts of the State. The deadline for filing claims and objections has been pushed from September 4 to September 18. Disposal of claims and objections and completion of hearings will continue till Octobe...

Officials from Assam have sought 15 days’ time to remove ‘dalals’ (middlemen) operating at Khanapara, Paltan Bazar and Guwahati Airport areas and assured to allot parking space for Meghalaya tourist taxis at the airport and railway stations. “Assam officials have assured they will not disturb us and will provide designated places so that we can freely pick up passengers,” said Balajied Jyrwa, spokesperson of All Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxi Association (AKMTTA) after a joint meeting of tourist taxi associations and authorities concerned from both the states in Shillong on Tuesday. The meeting discussed in detail the problems faced by Meghalaya tourist cab drivers in picking up passengers from Kamakhya railway station and Guwahati airport due to blockage and harassment, according to ...

A high-level meeting between Assam and Meghalaya officials has helped ease tensions following the unfortunate incident in Shillong on August 19, with both sides expressing confidence that the situation will gradually return to normal. Speaking after the meeting, Assam Minister Atul Bora described the discussions as “very good” and said senior officials from both states participated in the effort to address the issues that had emerged between the two sides.From Assam, the meeting was attended by Ajoy Tiwari, Additional Secretary, Home Department; the Special Additional Director General of Police; IGPs Okila Singh and Ratna Singh; Akash Deep, Commissioner and Secretary, Transport Department; Manavendra Pratap Singh, Commissioner; and other senior officials. The Meghalaya delegation wa...