Shillong, May 15 : The Meghalaya Cabinet on Friday deliberated on the Chief Minister’s Economic Task Force to formulate sector-specific strategies for tacking economic disruption due to COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Cabinet met today to discuss the CM’s Economic Task Force that will focus on reviving and modifying #Meghalaya’s economy in the #COVID19 scenario,” Sangma, who is also the Chairman of the apex committee of the task force, tweeted.

The Cabinet has also approved the Meghalaya State Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020.

The Bill will be tabled and passed in the upcoming re-assembled budget session of the state Assembly which will commence on May 20.

The proposal to include the Commissioner of Food Safety in the list of head of departments was also approved by the state cabinet.

The Chief Minister’s Economic Task Force has been divided into an apex committee, executive committee and working groups.

Only Cabinet ministers and senior government officials are members of the apex committee. The executive committee,
which is also headed by Sangma, will include academicians, apart from ministers and government officials.

The working groups to be headed by senior officials have been constituted on finance revenue and investment, infrastructure and labour, agriculture and allied sectors, rural poverty alleviation and livelihood, industries and trade, entrepreneurship skills and tourism.

The terms of the reference of the working groups are to identify sectoral intervention to generate maximum impact on employment and livelihood within two weeks. It is also mandated to identify critical policy reforms and sectoral strategies for immediate and medium-term needs, and review the existing schemes for better utilisation of resources.

The ruling National People’s Party-led government has also launched the Meghalaya Economic Survey, 2020, for businesses, entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals to gather data on the disruption caused across the state owing to the health pandemic.