Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma

Meghalaya's Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma, visited Chokpot in South Garo Hills on Monday to open several completed public works at once.

The ribbon-cuttings covered a rebuilt block administration office, a farmers' marketplace, a hub for bamboo and arecanut processing, and two new road bridges, alongside a separate CM Connect grievance session with residents.

The Chokpot Community and Rural Development Block now has a new administrative complex built for ₹2.77 crore, replacing a structure whose foundation dates back to 1965 under the old Assam government. Sangma noted that Chokpot is one of the oldest and biggest rural blocks in the district, and that its population has roughly grown by about 36 per cent since the 2011 Census, now estimated near 55,000.

A new farmers market, finished on November 6, 2026 at a cost of ₹9.26 crore, is meant to serve over 3,000 growers. The three-storey building covers 9,474 square feet with 60 stalls split across two floors, plus a 9,276-square-foot hall that can seat 700 people; earnings from the market will be split 80 per cent to a local market committee, 10 per cent to the state agriculture marketing board and 10 per cent to the A'king Nokma, with five stalls set aside for the Nokma and clan members.

The cluster of openings signals a push to strengthen rural administration, farm trade and connectivity in a relatively remote part of South Garo Hills. Better market infrastructure and bridge access could make it easier for local farmers to move produce and reach essential services, while the processing hub targets income from bamboo and arecanut value chains.

Sangma also flagged continuing gaps, including hospital staffing in Chokpot and a backlog of citizen grievances, pointing to unfinished work even as these flagship projects open.

Sangma said he would look into providing additional medical staff for Chokpot's Community Health Centre once back in Shillong, and that the farmers market would soon be handed over to a farmers' association to run.

Officials reported that across South Garo Hills, 92 projects worth ₹941.48 crore have been sanctioned, with 18 completed, 37 ongoing and 37 still in the pipeline; within Chokpot block alone, 30 projects worth ₹368.21 crore are at various stages, including a planned civil sub-division office estimated at ₹6.15 crore.