Guwahati: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Saturday rolled out welfare benefits exceeding Rs 130 crore for more than 27,700 beneficiaries under multiple flagship programmes, with a focus on rural livelihoods and community infrastructure.
The announcement was made at a function held at Polo Ground in Shillong, attended by Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Timothy D. Shira and MLA Celestine Lyngdoh.
Funds were released under initiatives such as FOCUS+, GREEN Meghalaya+, LIFCOM, MegLIFE, the Floriculture Mission and CM ELEVATE, benefiting individuals as well as 235 farmer cooperatives.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister also inaugurated 128 MegLIFE community halls, 34 warehouses and four common facility centres under CM ELEVATE, with a combined investment of over Rs 48 crore.
Sangma said that since 2018, the state government has launched more than 30 schemes, benefiting over 8 lakh people. He noted that flagship programmes, including FOCUS+, the CM Safe Motherhood Scheme and CM ELEVATE, have supported over 1.05 lakh farmers, 13,169 women, 3,600 entrepreneurs and nearly 98,751 students.
Officials said that since March 4, about 24,400 beneficiaries have received Rs 6.04 crore under FOCUS+, which provides direct financial support for farm production activities.
Under GREEN Meghalaya+, over 2,700 beneficiaries were disbursed Rs 25.54 crore, taking the cumulative allocation under the programme to Rs 180 crore. The scheme is aimed at incentivising ecosystem conservation through community participation.
Similarly, Rs 27 crore has been distributed under LIFCOM to strengthen working capital for farmer collectives and grassroots enterprises, while Rs 22 crore has been disbursed under the Floriculture Mission.
Under CM ELEVATE, financial assistance of Rs 76 lakh was provided to 180 entrepreneurs to promote self-employment and enterprise development.
Reiterating the government’s commitment to inclusive growth, Sangma said efforts would continue to strengthen community institutions and ensure that welfare schemes effectively reach the grassroots.