Shillong (Meghalaya), June 6: Meghalaya shifted from host to agenda-setter at the 73rd North Eastern Council Plenary on June 4, with Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma pushing a roadmap for collective tourism growth and regional cooperation.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the session attended by Governors and Chief Ministers of all eight northeastern states. Sangma, who led the high-level task force on tourism, argued that the region must market itself as one destination to move tourists seamlessly across state borders.
He backed the pitch with Meghalaya’s recent numbers: the economy has doubled in five years, capital investment is up fourfold since 2018, the first IT park is full, and over 150 tourism projects are underway including the Shillong ropeway, skywalk and Rain Museum at Mawsynram. The Shillong airport runway expansion is slated for completion in 15 months, targeting 1.8 million visitors a year.
The CM-ELEVATE scheme, offering up to 75 percent subsidy, drew 29,000 applications in two months. The PRIME incubation programme has backed nearly 4,400 beneficiaries and 240 new enterprises. Meghalaya was named top performer at the National Startup Awards for two years running.
The state will host the 39th National Games in 2027 and has rolled out a Sports Action Plan to 2032. Sangma has also set a USD 150 billion economy target for 2047 and is pushing trade revival through border ‘haats’ with Bangladesh and ASEAN markets.
The Plenary signaled a change in posture. Meghalaya came with a regional tourism plan, a pipeline of projects and a Chief Minister positioning the NEC as a policy body, not just a funding channel.
