The Patharkhmah mini secretariat in Meghalaya’s Ri-Bhoi district will bring government offices under one campus, reducing the need for residents to travel between different locations to access related public services, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Monday.
Sangma laid the foundation stone for the facility at the Western Ri-Bhoi Football Ground. The mini secretariat will house the offices of the Patharkhmah Civil Sub-Division on a single campus, with the stated aim of allowing citizens to complete related work in one visit.
“The mini secretariat will bring the offices of the Patharkhmah Civil Sub-Division together on one campus, so that a citizen can complete related work in one visit, instead of travelling between offices,” the chief minister said. He added that residents should not have to travel for hours or days to access government services.
The announcement is part of a wider set of public facility openings and foundation events in the area. A new block office was inaugurated at Jirang by local football athlete Ribansi Jamu in the presence of the chief minister. New buildings for Patharkhmah Senior Secondary School and Patharkhmah Model Degree College were also inaugurated.
The Jirang Community and Rural Development Block was established on March 24, 2001, with its headquarters at Patharkhmah. The block office serves as an important contact point between the government and families in the area. Its responsibilities include planning and monitoring rural roads, housing, water supply, livelihood programmes and village-level development works.
The Patharkhmah Model Degree College, established on May 25, 2022, under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan, is the first government degree college in Ri-Bhoi. The campus, formally inaugurated on Monday, is affiliated with Captain Williamson Sangma State University and offers undergraduate courses in arts.
The college has separate hostels for male and female students, with 60 seats each. Its location alongside Patharkhmah Senior Secondary School is intended to create a local education pathway from school through undergraduate study. Sangma said students should not have to leave the area to pursue college education.
Students from Western Ri-Bhoi previously had to move to Nongpoh, Shillong or Guwahati after completing Class XII, according to the report. The cost of travel, accommodation and food had made higher education difficult for many families.
The government has sanctioned Rs 3.5 crore for a 0.91-kilometre approach road to the degree college. The project also includes three parking areas, and construction work is currently under way.
The new administrative and education facilities place service delivery, schooling and higher education within the same local area. The mini secretariat’s next significance will depend on the consolidation of offices and the extent to which residents can complete government-related work through the proposed single-campus arrangement.
