Nongstoin (Meghalaya), Oct 15 Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday inaugurated a Rs 31.05-crore maternity and child health hospital in Nongstoin and laid foundation stones for three other projects to strengthen healthcare, education and road connectivity in West Khasi Hills district.
The hospital has been built to improve specialist care for pregnant women and newborns in the district, where maternal and infant mortality rates have been among the highest in the state.
The facility is expected to reduce the need to refer high-risk pregnancies and critically ill newborns to Shillong.
Addressing a gathering after declaring the hospital operational, Sangma said the project was a commitment made during the government’s CM Connect programme, where residents had raised it as a long-pending concern.
He said CM Connect was an effort to ensure that issues raised at the grassroots reached the chief minister and the departments concerned.
The chief minister said governance inevitably involves complaints, pressure and demands, but officials must address them rather than shy away from challenges.
“That is precisely why we are here. We can’t afford to run away from it. We have to face it head-on,” he said.
Sangma said senior health department officials had reviewed the hospital’s progress during a site visit in November 2025 and finalised staffing, equipment and supplies before its operationalisation.
The hospital has an outpatient department and laboratory complex, an emergency unit, labour room, intensive care unit, neonatal intensive care unit and an operation theatre complex.
A pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen generation plant was installed at a cost of Rs 37 lakh.
A District Early Intervention Centre has also been proposed at the facility to screen and provide early treatment for developmental delays and disabilities among children.
The hospital stands on land donated by a private landowner, whom the chief minister felicitated during the programme.
Sangma also handed over an ambulance donated by IDBI Bank under its corporate social responsibility initiative to the health department.
On infrastructure development, the chief minister said overall development could not be confined to Shillong and Tura, highlighting road projects worth Rs 498.31 crore converging on Nongstoin.
The largest investment is the Rs 383.91-crore upgrade of the 35-km Maweit-Nongjri section of the Nongstoin-Maweit-Nongjri road, which connects Nongstoin with Ranikor in South West Khasi Hills.
Other projects include the Nongstoin-Maweit road under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), costing Rs 63.01 crore; the Sohpian-Nongstoin road, costing Rs 22.27 crore, whose foundation stone was laid on Thursday; and the Nongkhlaw-Byrki-Umdohlun road, including two bridges under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-III, costing Rs 29.12 crore.
Sangma directed the Public Works Department and the contractor to maintain construction quality, including proper road shoulders, footpaths and drainage.
He asked the deputy commissioner and the local MLA to monitor the work and report any issues directly to him.
The chief minister also laid the foundation stones for the Golden Jubilee Garden at Nongstoin and a new District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) building.
As West Khasi Hills marks 50 years, Sangma called for a long-term development vision for the district, urging officials and elected representatives to set constituency-wise and district-wise goals for the next three, five, 10 and 50 years.
He said projects worth nearly Rs 900 crore had been implemented in West Khasi Hills over the past eight years across sectors, adding that similar development efforts were under way in South West Khasi Hills, South Garo Hills and East Jaintia Hills.
Citing the Rs 450-crore Sutnga-Saipung road project as an example, he said it had been sanctioned despite not having been built since Meghalaya attained statehood.
Urging officials to remain accountable, Sangma said even a brief interaction could make a difference to people’s lives.
“Don’t take your position for granted. God has given you this opportunity. Ten seconds of your time can change somebody’s life. Be the change you want to see,” he said.
(PTI News)
