North Eastern Council releases over Rs 95 crore development projects in Meghalaya

Meghalaya has received fresh development support worth nearly Rs 96 crore from the North Eastern Council (NEC) during August, with major allocations directed towards boosting rural markets, education, and community welfare.

The largest share of the funding will go to establishing farmers’ markets across the state — Rs 4.47 crore for 20 smaller markets and another Rs 4.45 crore for 10 larger ones. These markets are expected to strengthen local agri-business by giving farmers better access to consumers and stabilising farm incomes.

In addition, Rs 48.87 lakh has been sanctioned for the construction of a new school building in Mawthadraishan, West Khasi Hills, while over Rs 17 lakh has been released for community development programmes for the Tiwa (Lalung) community in Ri-Bhoi district.

Alongside Meghalaya-specific projects, the NEC also approved several regional initiatives that will benefit the state. These include the establishment of scientific smoked meat production units, a multi-agriculture project combining fisheries and piggery in Manipur and Meghalaya, and continued investment in pig breeding and value-chain development.

Separately, the Council sanctioned Rs 51.17 lakh in gap funding for residential costs of youth skill training in the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC) and IT-ITES sectors, to be implemented by NERCORMS, Shillong. 

The programme will train and certify about 400 youths across the North-East, including from Meghalaya, in high-demand digital skills.