Shillong: On Wednesday, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma stated financial constraints in purchasing land for catchment area protection.
He said that an alternative system involving “payment for ecosystems” to incentivize landowners to safeguard these vulnerable areas.
Sangma spoke of the positive intent of land acquisition but highlighted the “quite large” financial implications, making it an infeasible option.
Instead, he outlined a strategy focused on “payment for ecosystems,” where landowners are compensated for protecting catchment areas. This approach aims to achieve similar conservation goals without the high costs associated with land purchase.
The Chief Minister announced a Rs 344 crore allocation under the Megh-Arise project dedicated to Tura and Shillong catchment protection.
He said this initiative aims to compensate landowners “as the amount to purchase land will be very high.”
On the issue of drug trafficking, Sangma shared that 696 cases have been chargesheeted and over 14,000 grams of heroin and 2,700 grams of opium have been seized.
He introduced the “DREAM project” as a holistic approach to combatting this issue.