Meghalaya will be next dream destination: Meghalaya CM

Mumbai, Aug 28 (UNI) Meghalaya will be the next dream destination for industrial growth, predicted its Chief Minister Donkupar Roy today.

''Though Meghalaya is still regarded as a backward state, there is huge capacity to develop. Our state has lot of potential for business investment in power, tourism, education, health and many other sectors,'' said Mr Roy while addressing the ''Investment prospects in Meghalaya'' conference here. It was organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The occasion also marked the inauguration of Meghalaya Bhavan in Mumbai.

Pledging the support of the entire government, the Chief Minister assured that the interests of the private players coming to Meghalaya will be fully protected and that the interaction with private would attract the private sector to the State.

Former Lok Sabha speaker and chairman of State Planning Board, Meghalaya P A Sangma expressed his concern on the country's growth and said India was heading towards regional imbalance.

Appealing to the audience, Mr Sangma said ''Besides your interest of investment and returns, how can you help us to catch up with the rest of India.'' He said capacity building, institutions building and research and development were the areas of priority.

''Though these are long term solutions, the immediate solution is the support of the private players who can help build capacity in Meghalaya,'' he said.

Meghalaya, which experienced a growth rate of 5.6 per cent during the 10th Plan, is targeting a growth rate of 7.3 per cent in the 11th Plan.

''With the growing saturation of opportunities in other states, Meghalaya offers a unique selling proposition. A small sparsely populated state with high literacy rate and trained workforce serves as a destination for investment,'' observed Meghalaya Chief Secretary, Ranjan Chatterjee at the conference.

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