{
  "id": 15170859,
  "title": "Shillong locality honours first West Bengal CM as one of Meghalaya’s trailblazers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/shillong-locality-honours-first-west-bengal-cm-as-one-of-meghalayas",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-17T09:50:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/meghalaya/shillong-locality-honours-first-west-bengal-cm-as-one-of-meghalayas-trailblazers/article71595528.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A 100-year-old Shillong neighborhood has honored Bidhan Chandra Roy, India's first Chief Minister of West Bengal, as one of the region's trailblazers. Established in 1925 when the British government allocated land for settlement, the Rilbong locality also paid tribute to 24 other notable figures who contributed to Shillong and the northeastern region through their work in various fields. These include James Joy Mohon Nichols-Roy, a key figure in the development of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which established autonomous tribal councils; Brington Buhai Lyngdoh, a four-time Chief Minister of Meghalaya and considered the father of coalition politics and the MLA Scheme; and Neil Nongkynrih, the founder of the Shillong Chamber Choir. Dr. Roy, a renowned physician, founded the Shillong Hydro Electric Company and introduced the city's first electric lights in October 1923. His pioneering work in hydropower laid the foundation for the Meghalaya State Electricity Board and the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited.",
  "summary": "The Rilbong area in Shillong is honouring J.J.M. Nichols-Roy, identified by The Hindu as the pioneer of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, and B.B. Lyngdoh, who is considered the father of coalition politics in India.\n\nAccording to a study by statisticians from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) published in the National Statistics Office’s journal, Sarvekshna, West Bengal saw the highest proportion of people experiencing improved standards of living among major states due to government welfare schemes. The Indian Express reports that 40.5% of people in West Bengal saw such improvements, followed by Chhattisgarh at 29.2%, Assam at 29%, and Karnataka at 28.4%. The study, titled ‘Impact of in-kind social transfer on level of living of Indian households’, utilized data from the 2022-23 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}