In news : Recently, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER) mentioned about Development activities in Garo Hills in his written reply to questions in Rajya Sabha
Various developmental activities in Garo Hills
- Out of total 11 districts in Meghalaya, 5 districts fall under Garo hills region. In Garo hills regions, 13 projects are under implementation for construction/widening/reconstruction of roads/bridges for 133.8 km length
- Two flagship schemes of Government namely Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana-Saubhagya are being implemented across the country for various rural electrification works and electrification of the remaining un-electrified households in rural and urban areas, including NER and State of Meghalaya.
- All the inhabited census villages and households of Garo hills have been electrified.
- Under the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP) scheme, 14 power projects are under implementation in Garo hills.
- Garo hills is the only region in Meghalaya which comes under the railway map by way of Mendipathar – Dudhnoi railway line.
- Under Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan, 389 towers covering 534 uncovered villages have been approved in three districts of Garo Hills for provision of 4G mobile services.
- Various developmental measures taken up by State Government under Central Sector Scheme/Centrally Sponsored Schemes/State Schemes include construction of first state run Medical College at Tura in West Garo Hills District, sanction of a Tribal Research Institute at Babadam, West Garo Hills, approval for setting up of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) in six Community & Rural Development Blocks of the Garo Hills Region and construction of 36 Anganwadi Centre Buildings (AWCs).
- Jal Jeevan Mission- Har Ghar Jal (JJM) is being implemented in this region. Under JJM, 31% of the households in the Garo Hills region have been provided with functional household tap connections till January, 2021.
Garo Hills
They are part of the Garo-Khasi range in Meghalaya, India. They are inhabited mainly by tribal dwellers, the majority of whom are Garo people. It is one of the wettest places in the world. The range is part of the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion
Tribes residing in garo hills
People who reside in the Garo Hills are known as the Garos. Besides the Garo hills, there are Garo settlements in the plains of Assam and Bangladesh.
Source: PIB
