DC Zunheboto, Dharam Raj chairing the DPDB meeting held at DC’s Conference hall, Zunheboto on November 13. (Morung Photo)
Morung Express News
Zunheboto | November 13
The District Planning and Development Board (DPDB) meeting for the month of November was held at the Deputy Commissioner’s Conference Hall, Zunheboto, under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Dharam Raj, IAS, and Vice Chairman, DPDB Zunheboto.
The meeting began with a welcome address by the DC, who also welcomed new members to the Board.
A major agenda of the meeting was the deliberation on the adoption of the National Highways Act. The DC highlighted that the new Act provides up to four times higher compensation to landowners compared to the previous Act.
Under Article 371(A), the State Government currently acquires land on behalf of the Central Government. However, if the new Act is adopted, the Centre will directly acquire land, ensuring greater transparency and efficiency in the process. To facilitate this, the Deputy Commissioner invited discussions with tribal bodies to reach a consensus before forwarding the matter to the concerned authorities.
The members discussed both the merits and demerits of the proposal. Some of the key points highlighted included, promoting transparency and efficiency in land acquisition; Increasing compensation rates for landowners; Ensuring faster and more effective construction of national highways.
The Board also emphasized the need for proper awareness campaigns to educate the public about the provisions of the new Act.
Earlier, a review of the previous meeting and the action taken report was presented. The key points included: Correction of the spelling “Sütsa,” which was earlier spelled as “Sütsah,” as received from the Sumi Literature Board. The correction has been forwarded to the concerned department; conduct of the Inter-Departmental Tournament in the district; The meeting then proceeded with a discussion on the adoption of the National Highways Act, 1956 (amended in 2017), which came into force on August 1, 2017.
The DC stressed that the purpose of the discussion was to educate and sensitize the people on the importance of embracing change for progress and development. He urged everyone to adopt a positive mindset towards new reforms that aim to benefit society as a whole.
