SHILLONG: Union home minister Amit Shah, arriving here to meet the chief ministers of the northeastern states, is also expected to visit rain-renowned Sohra (Cherrapunjee) during his two-day visit to the state, chief minister Conrad K. Sangma said on Friday.
Shah is likely to visit the state from July 17, the chief minister said.
"He will be meeting the chief ministers of the Northeast and in that meeting chief secretaries and directors general of police (DGPs) will also be present. Apart from that, he will visit Sohra where he would be inaugurating one project. At the same time, he will launch a tree plantation scheme because there is a massive drive to ensure that green cover increases in Sohra ," the chief minister told the media on Friday during a briefing.
"He will be here for two days and he will be staying here for one night," the CM told reporters, adding that Shah would also be visiting the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC). On requests from several groups to have an audience with the Union home minister, the chief minister said, "We have put in the requests for them also and asked for time. We have not got the response yet but I am very hopeful that he will give a positive response on that so we are waiting for confirmation."
"During those meetings, I am sure discussions on different issues which are important to the state will be discussed. Obviously at my level also, I will be discussing these matters with the Union home minister and we will see what response we get from there," he said. Pointing out that the Union home minister has "expressed desire" to ensure that the inter-state boundary disputes in the Northeast are resolved before the nation celebrates its 75th Independence Day, Sangma said, he would be soon "officially" meet his Assam counterpart
Himanta Biswa Sarma, with whom he has been having "unofficial" discussions on the boundary issue.
"The home minister has expressed the desire to see that inter -state issues for all states should be resolved before 75th year of India's Independence. That was what MHA has expressed which I feel is very fair as even after 75 years, states are still fighting over borders. It does not reflect too well for the state and the country," he said.
