Why this relaxation for M’laya?

Netas, babus go on foreign visits

By Our Reporter

SHILLONG, May 26: At a time when Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma has directed all government departments to strictly follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s austerity drive — including slashing the size of vehicle convoys, cutting non-essential expenditure, and drastically reducing foreign travels — the message appears to have been conveniently discarded by many in his own government.

Despite clear instructions from the Chief Minister to “review and minimise all non-essential foreign travels” and to undertake only absolutely critical official visits in view of the state’s financial difficulties, ministers, MLAs, and senior bureaucrats continue to jet off abroad at will.

At a time when Prime Minister Modi has repeatedly called for financial discipline and asked ministers and officials across the country to avoid unnecessary foreign junkets to conserve foreign exchange, Meghalaya’s political and bureaucratic class seems to have received a special exemption.

Currently, Assembly Speaker Thomas A. Sangma is in Canada attending the 16th Canadian Parliamentary Seminar along with senior officials.

Information and Public Relations Minister Lahkmen Rymbui is in France attending the glitzy Cannes Film Festival. A high-powered delegation of IAS officers, including Chief Secretary Shakeel P. Ahammed, Vijay Kumar, and C.V.D. Diengdoh, is currently in Argentina on a “Smart City Exposure Visit”.

Several other delegations are also reportedly touring different countries. Just weeks ago, a large group of officials returned from a training programme in London.

All these foreign tours, sources say, were cleared in advance by the Ministry of External Affairs.

However, this open defiance of both the Prime Minister’s and the Chief Minister’s austerity appeals has left many citizens shocked and angry. While the common man is repeatedly asked to tighten his belt and face continuous hikes in fuel and LPG prices, the state’s elite lot continues to enjoy lavish foreign excursions — apparently treating international travel as an essential perk rather than a luxury.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, during his recent five-nation tour to the UAE, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Italy (May 15–20, 2026), had once again urged restraint on non-essential foreign travel.

Yet in Meghalaya, the austerity drive seems to apply only to ground-level measures like smaller convoys, while foreign junkets remain untouched.

The big question remains: Why this selective relaxation for Meghalaya?