Nagaland CM highlights developmental activities during Statehood Day

Village Guard from Meluri joins the march past during the celebration of the 57th Nagaland Statehood Day here at Kohima Local Ground on December 1. (Morung Photo) 
 

Our Correspondent
Kohima | December 1 

Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio today said that the PDA government continues paying its utmost attention to one of the most crucial infrastructural need of the state, which is increasing road coverage.

Addressing the 57th Statehood Day here at Kohima Local Ground, Rio said that many schemes with regard to roads, both fresh projects as well as improvement works are being regularly taken up to improve road connectivity.
In 2019-20, under several schemes, more than 850 crores have been sanctioned for 24 roads covering more than 400 kilometres and 5 bridges.

In addition, efforts are on for ensuring significant improvement of all the District Headquarter roads.

In the power sector also, many significant initiatives have been taken.

The power supply capacity has been doubled in Kohima from 24 MVA to 48 MVA and in Dimapur from 100 MVA to 200 MVA which has seen a significant reduction in load shedding with considerable improvement in power supply.

IT services are being promoted to increase revenue generation. Prepaid metering has been started in Dimapur and more installations are being undertaken in additional colonies while installation is also being undertaken in Kohima.
Rio said the government have always placed tremendous stress on human resource development as all round growth is only then possible.

While good progress has been made in literacy levels, the aim now is for working towards quality education. The Department of School Education is welcoming and encouraging private sector organizations and NGOs towards improving the quality of education being imparted in government schools.

Another innovative plan towards improving quality is designating Best Performing Government schools in each district as model schools so that other schools can adopt the best practices being followed in the model schools and improve.

Staying that health sector also continues to be one of the priority areas of the government, he said that besides running all the health schemes successfully and effectively all throughout the state, the Health Department by issuing more than 2.37 lakh eCards, covering more than 84,000 households till now, under Ayushman Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, has brought quality health care services within easy reach of the vulnerable sections of the society.

The chief minister stated that agriculture continues to be important for us as it is the main occupation of our people.
The construction work of organic AC market at NE Agri-Expo site at Dimapur is in full swing which will help in further facilitating marketing opportunities to the farmers.

Under PM-KISAN, more than 1,42,603 small and marginal farmer names have been uploaded and an amount of about Rs 54.60 crores have been directly deposited to the individual accounts of the farmers.

“My Government has been promoting organic farming and agriculture to double the livelihood incomes of the farmers,” Rio said.

Rio said that a constant endeavour of the PDA government has been towards e-governance in all the fields “as this not only brings transparency, improves governance but also promotes ease of living.”

Referring to launching of Online ILP portal for Domestic Tourists visiting Nagaland, he said the online system, besides making the process of getting an ILP convenient and easy, for any tourist desirous of visiting Nagaland, would also help in better monitoring of the ILP regime in the state.

MyGov Nagaland portal was also launched on November 20, an innovative IT platform to build partnership between citizens and government with the help of technology for growth and development of the state.

Rio maintained that the beautiful landscape of Nagaland and the rich, vibrant culture of our people makes Nagaland state one of the most interesting tourist destinations of the country.

“We are continuously working towards improving and scaling up the tourism sector in the state,” he said.

The Department of Tourism has tied up with Hanifl Centre to train and equip our guides with knowledge and skills to assist tourists. It has recently also signed an MOU with Airbnb, one of the leading agencies in the hospitality industry.

“This will not only help accommodate the inflow of tourist and solve accommodation problem in the state but also help locals in promoting their business on a wider platform, and also give tourists authentic and genuine taste of the hospitality and lifestyle of the Nagas,” Rio said.

‘Developmental efforts possible only with peace’
The CM said that developmental efforts become possible only with peace and good law and order situation in the state.

He said that Nagaland has been adjudged the best performing small state in Law and Order by the India Today Group State of States survey for the second consecutive year.

“This significant achievement has been made possible by the focused and dedicated approach of the entire Law and Order machinery and the security forces in the State, and they deserve fullest appreciation for that,” Rio said.

The chief minister said that Nagaland also adjudged as this year's most improved small state in entrepreneurship and cleanliness in the same survey.

This shows appreciation of the efforts being made by the Government over time for creating an enabling environment for the local unemployed youth to get trained and also be equipped with skills so as to become a job creator rather than only a job seeker, he said.

Rio also stated that the departments of PHED and Urban Development also deserve appreciation for the various effective initiatives taken by them with regard to maintenance of cleanliness in the state.