Shillong, Aug 15 (IANS): On the occasion of the 74th Independence Day on Saturday, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said that a "Task Force" on the economy has been formed to suggest reforms for rejuvenating the economy in the short, medium and long-term. Based on the recommendations, the state government will launch the "Restart Meghalaya Mission".

Hoisting the Tricolour at the Polo Ground in Shillong, the Chief Minister said the proposed "Meghalaya Mission" is a series of programmes to support farmers, entrepreneurs and others working in different fields and sectors. "An amount of Rs 14,515 crore would be spent over the next three years for the mission and of the amount, Rs 7,839 crore was earmarked for the current fiscal (2020-21)," he added.

Sangma said that the state government has been implementing various schemes and projects which include the National Rural Livelihood Mission and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. The state government, he added, is also pushing the "Jal Jeevan Mission" and aiming to provide functional tap connections to 5,89,000 households in the state by 2022.

During his Independence Day speech, the Chief Minister congratulated health and various other frontline workers for their efforts to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said that Meghalaya is among the least Covid-19 impacted states in the country in terms of the number of cases per million. According to him, the mountainous state with 12 testing centres has accelerated the daily testing capacity to 1,000 in the RT-PCR mode.

Sangma highlighted the various steps taken by his government to curb the spread of the coronavirus that include formation of the village management committees to contain the intensity of Covid-19.

During the Independence Day celebrations, the Chief Minister felicitated 71 health workers by giving them citations in recognition of their service to the state in containing the virus.