Meghalaya | Reduce minimum height of NE army recruits: NEC

SHILLONG, July 16, 2018: The North Eastern Council (NEC) has requested the Union Home and Defence Ministries to lower the minimum height for candidates belonging to North-east indigenous groups so that they would be in a position to join the army and paramilitary forces.

In a letter to Union home minister Rajnath Singh and Union defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, North Eastern Council (NEC) member C.K. Das has requested them to consider reducing the minimum height from 160cm to 156cm for the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo youths of Meghalaya, and also for other youths belonging to indigenous ethnic groups of the region for recruitment in the army and paramilitary forces.

The letter comes after a petition by Meghalaya Congress legislator George B. Lyngdoh, who had observed that many of the local youths could not measure to the minimum prescribed height of 160cm.

"Meghalaya ranks very high in unemployment. Poor absorption into the central government employment avenues only aggravates the current problem. The state had faced the brunt of militancy for years before the government could rein in the forces of terror and integrating the misguided youths again with the mainstream," he said.

He added that the youth of the state might be drawn to illegal activities if adequate jobs are not available.

TNT News with inputs from The Telegraph (https://www.telegraphindia.com/)