Meghalaya Govt to roll out implementation of journalists welfare scheme from Dec 1

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaNovember 27, 2024

The state government on Wednesday approved the Meghalaya Journalists Welfare Scheme, 2024.

Addressing media persons after the cabinet, Minister in-charge Information & Public Relations Ampareen Lyngdoh said, “It shall now become operational and we are happy and we will keep the press fraternity informed from time to time about what would be the various components of this particular welfare scheme.”

According to her, the government will roll out the implementation of the scheme with effect from December 1, this year. She said this has been a long requested facility by the press fraternity. 

“There are already components of the journalist welfare scheme which are like the previous year’s journalist welfare scheme. For example before this, we had a journalist welfare scheme of just Rs 1 lakh for the loss of a life of a journalist. There are certain rules that also need to be conform to when you want to avail this facility. So what we are saying here is that Rs 1 lakh in this generation is inadequate. We have up-scaled it to Rs 5 lakhs. Now in terms of medical treatment, journalists facing acute health problems were given an opportunity of availing only Rs 50,000 in the previous scheme. So now we have upscaled this to Rs 3 lakhs,” the minister stated.

Lyngdoh informed that a committee constituted by the government to look into the implementation of the scheme will decide on the modalities of the operation of the journalist welfare scheme.

Asked, the minister said, “We are also very concerned about the registered accredited journalists, who need attention and who need assistant because of the yeoman service that they have engaged with for all of their journalist life.

So therefore, we will leave it to the wisdom of the committee to take a call. We are looking at a support fund for veteran journalists, who are deriving to receive this fund.”

“Modalities of this are all chalked out. We are looking at the practice that is there in other States, we will replicate positive practices but I hope that the press fraternity is jubilant for this because this is a long demand that you have put before governments in the past, it is only now that we are finally in agreement, we have received cabinet approval to go ahead with this particular scheme,”she added.