Shillong, March 28 Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday announced the disbursement of approximately Rs 130 crore in benefits to over 27,700 beneficiaries under flagship programs aimed at boosting rural livelihoods and community infrastructure.
The funds were distributed at a function held at Polo Ground here, where the chief minister, along with Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister Timothy D Shira and MLA Celestine Lyngdoh, addressed a gathering of around 3,000 beneficiaries.
The funds were released under various flagship initiatives, including FOCUS+, GREEN Meghalaya+, LIFCOM, MegLIFE, Floriculture Mission, and CM ELEVATE, benefiting over 27,700 people and 235 farmer cooperatives.
On the occasion, the chief minister also inaugurated 128 MegLIFE community halls, 34 warehouses, and four common facility centers under CM ELEVATE, which were built at a combined cost of over Rs 48 crore.
Reaffirming the government's commitment to inclusive growth, Sangma said the number of welfare schemes in the state has significantly increased in recent years.
"In 2018, the state had three to four major schemes. Today, we have more than 30 welfare schemes, reaching over 8 lakh beneficiaries," he said.
Highlighting the impact of key initiatives, he said schemes such as FOCUS+, CM Safe Motherhood Scheme, CM ELEVATE, and CM Scholarship Scheme have benefited over 1.05 lakh farmers, 13,169 women, 3,600 entrepreneurs, and 98,751 students, respectively.
Officials said that since March 4, over 24,400 beneficiaries have received Rs 6.04 crore under FOCUS+, which provides an untied grant of Rs 5,000 per farm producer household for production-related activities.
Under GREEN Meghalaya+, described as one of the country's largest payment for ecosystem services programs, over 2,700 beneficiaries received Rs 25.54 crore on Saturday, taking the cumulative disbursement under the scheme to more than Rs 100 crore.
LIFCOM has extended over Rs 27 crore to 235 cooperatives to enhance access to working capital for farmer collectives and grassroots enterprises, while the Floriculture Mission has disbursed Rs 22 crore to 320 beneficiaries to boost rural livelihoods.
Additionally, under CM ELEVATE, financial assistance of Rs 76 lakh was provided to 180 entrepreneurs to promote self-employment and enterprise development.
The chief minister said the government is focusing on strengthening community institutions and ensuring that welfare schemes reach the grassroots, in line with its broader vision of making Meghalaya a "magnificent" state through inclusive and sustainable development.