The decision was taken at a meeting convened by the MSPB Working Group-IX under the chairmanship of former deputy chief minister Rowel Lyngdoh as Co-chairman held in the city hereon Monday.
The meeting was to review the state plan schemes allocated to the six departments and their physical achievements for the year 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17.
The departments include Commerce & Industries, Mining & Geology, Sericulture & Weaving, Science & Technology, Forest & Environment and Information Technology & Communication. Of these, only four departments were reviewed.
Addressing newsmen after the meeting, Board’s Co-chairman John F Kharshiing said, “We have suggested the need to have E-Waste management programme in the state.”
He said the IT&C department had already distributed computers to over 1000 schools spread across the state under the IT Education scheme funded by the North Eastern Council (NEC).
“However, in the absence of proper electronic waste management where do we throw such electronic hardware once they are out of order or become obsolete,” he said.
He also said that they have also written to an IT manufacturer for conducting a seminar on the subject.
On India’s third International Internet Gateway (IIG) in Agartala through Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh would accelerate internet connectivity in the Northeast region, Kharshiing said the board has also sought to know its status in the state.
“According to officials, the challenge is to extend this from Shillong to other districts especially on laying of the optical fibre cable,” he said.
It may be mentioned, India has spent Rs 19.14 crore to create the infrastructure for the third IIG in Agartala to get the 10 gigabit bandwidth from Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL).
On the activities and achievements of the science and technology cell under planning department, the Co-chairman said that the board was informed over 315 farmers from 21 villages were trained for micro propagation of indigenous plants.
However, he said the board has suggested the department to also take up an official documentation of indigenous system of medicines adding the state has over 2000 traditional healers registered so far.
“This is relevant in as far as documentation on various categories of forests including sacred groves because the source of such indigenous system of medicines is from these forests,” he asserted.
He said during 2015-16, the department has been able to set up as many as 11 community orchid parks.
On the proposal to construct Digital Planetarium cum Innovation Hub in Tura and Shillong, Kharshiing said while the one proposed for Tura have started, Shillong on the other hand is waiting for a MoU to be signed.
Meanwhile, the co-chairman said that the information submitted by the different departments during the meeting will be further examined by the MSPB Working Group-IX before making necessary recommendations to the state government.
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