Shillong: The state govt, in compliance with its employment policies, has generated around 3.66 lakh jobs in recent years, CM Conrad K Sangma said on Thursday.Addressing the House during the budget session, Conrad said, “Maybe we have not yet fully fulfilled our goal, but we are on the right track,” before adding that sustained interventions were “already yielding results”.Replying to a query by opposition legislator, Trinamool Congress’s Mizanur Kazi, during the Question Hour, the CM said the govt has been proactively working to reduce unemployment through policy decisions, and other interventions such as skilling and entrepreneurship support.Kazi, however, maintained that despite the state govt’s measures, unemployment rate in the state was surging and asked the CM if it was the failure of the govt.Negating Kazi’s statement, Conrad said, “To jump to a conclusion that the policy is a failure would not be correct”, before adding, “50% of the state population is below the age of 20. We have realized the need to create more job avenues through different missions”.Conrad said the govt had sanctioned Rs 140 crore to 22,500 producer groups, benefiting 2.1 lakh people under the FOCUS scheme, while FOCUS+ had reached another 1.5 lakh beneficiaries. “Farmers have benefited. A lot of them have given testimonies that because their production has improved owing to the money they got. We will ensure more such impact in the future,” he added.
