Meghalaya govt uses 'special vehicle' to transport 200-kg job quota report
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma reveals the report had to be transported by special vehicle, sparking surprise and questions from opposition and civil groups.
A file image of Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma
Shillong, Jan 4: The Meghalaya Government has sent a “special vehicle” to ferry a record-breaking “200 kilogram” report, which could not be sent even by air.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma recently announced that the “200 kg of report” of an expert committee “will be made public” soon. The report is on the State’s job reservation policy.
“It is huge. That is like 4,000-5,000 pages...We needed a special vehicle to get the report as we could not get it in a flight. It is 200 kg of paperwork,” Sangma said.
The announcement has surprised many because of the sheer size of the report, especially the weight of 200 kg.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Voice of People’s Party (VPP) has termed it “strange”. The Khasi Students’ Union has also reportedly stated that it is unable to comprehend the weight of the report. It added that everything is vague at this moment.
The reason for the confusion is because an 80 gsm A4 size paper weighs about 5 gm and therefore, a 5000-page report will not weigh more than 25 kg. The weight can go higher if the thickness of the paper is more than 80 gsm.
In this case, the 5000-page report has to be printed on cardboard-like paper above 500 gsm to have a weight of 200 kg, experts said. Each page will weigh about 40 gm, excluding the binding!
There are instances around the world, including India, of reports weighing much more than 200 kg. Those are primarily on issues like river linking or nuclear safety.
However, the report on the State’s job reservation is also important for Meghalaya. The VPP has been demanding a review of the 1972 job quota policy. Chief Minister Sangma said that the “sensitive” report is being studied carefully by officials.
“One has to go through every single word because even a comma can change the meaning of the report,” Sangma said, citing the sensitivity of the report. He added that the State officials have studied the report, which would be sent to the Cabinet soon. The State Government will later make the 200-kg report public.