Shillong, June 16: The Meghalaya Government has clarified the status of projects funded by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), asserting that reports describing 17 centrally-funded projects as being at “zero progress” have created a misleading impression among the public.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Government said a report published on June 14 had cited a genuine Ministry of DoNER monitoring document but presented the figures in isolation without the wider context contained in the same report.
According to the Government, the Ministry of DoNER’s May 2026 monitoring report shows that out of 81 monitored projects in Meghalaya, 46 projects—nearly 57 percent—have either been completed or are in the final stage of execution. Of these, 14 projects worth over ₹200.92 crore have achieved 100 percent physical completion, while 32 projects are between 75 percent and 100 percent complete.
The Government stated that Meghalaya ranks among the better-performing states in the North East in terms of project implementation and delivery. It clarified that projects showing “0 percent physical progress” in the monitoring report are not stalled projects but are recently sanctioned schemes that are still undergoing DPR preparation, tendering, or award of work.
The statement noted that of the 17 projects cited in the report, 11 are being implemented by State Government departments and are currently in various stages of tendering, with work orders expected to be issued during June and July 2026. The remaining six projects are being implemented directly by central agencies such as NESAC, NECTAR, IICA and NPCCL.
Among the major projects under implementation are the ₹234-crore Sohra Tourism Circuit Development Project, ₹140-crore Greater Baghmara Water Supply Scheme Phase-II, ₹137-crore Chokpot–Kharukol Road Project, ₹79-crore Mawlai Substation Augmentation Project, and ₹72-crore Mawkhan Substation Construction Project.
The Government emphasized that monitoring reports should be interpreted in their entirety and cautioned against characterising newly sanctioned projects as “stalled” or “non-starters.” It added that several media outlets had reported the same DoNER data with full context.
Reaffirming its commitment to infrastructure development, the State Government said it continues to closely monitor all sanctioned projects and address bottlenecks to ensure timely implementation.
“The characterisation of these projects as non-starters is incorrect,” the statement said, adding that Meghalaya remains committed to delivering all approved projects for the benefit of the people.
