Arun Jaitley meets Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma, voices concern over financial deficit of North East

New Delhi: Voicing concern over the financial deficit of the North East, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley has said that the Central government will extend full support to reverse the situation in the region, an official statement said on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_4369327” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Arun Jaitley. PTI[/caption] Jaitley made this statement during a meeting with Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma, at his residence in New Delhi on Saturday evening, to discuss the financial situation of the state. Lending a patient hearing to Sangma and his ministers, he assured full support and cooperation to increase revenue generation in the state. “If we tell northeast to live on its own resources, it will take one day for the region to break, so it our responsibility to support and give a special attention to the region,” Jaitley said. He expressed hope that Assam was slowly coming out of the deficit status. Jaitley has suggested that the delegation come up with appropriate strategies to promote tourism in Meghalaya, with a focus on making the state an educational hub. Sangma also discussed the idea of setting up an IT and Food Park in Meghalaya, apart from promoting the indigenous herbal medicines of the region. The issue of air connectivity in Meghalaya was also discussed during the meeting. “At present we have a Pawan Hans helicopter. But, we are going to open three helipads in various parts of the state to ensure these services start. Railway tracks are also on the list but there are challenges as NGO and civil societies are posing some challenge, but we are trying to get them onboard,” Sangma said.