OUR CORRESPONDENT
Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Governor Lt Gen (Retd) K T Parnaik on Thursday said that the government’s focus areas of development are well aligned with the ‘Saptarshi’ development priorities to guide the state during the ‘Amrit Kaal’, thus providing a blueprint for an empowered and inclusive economy.
Addressing the first day of the Budget Session of the state assembly, the Governor said that under Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his ‘Team Arunachal’, the state has witnessed massive development. “The government is following the ‘Antyodaya’ approach for ensuring that the benefits of development reach the last mile and the last person. The last eight years have been a never-seen-before era for Arunachal, where the government has made historic, transformational, systemic, and structural changes that have improved the lives of all the citizens, especially benefiting the poor, the women, the youth and the farmers,” he said.
The governor added that the government had left no stone unturned to make the vision of a ‘happy’, ‘cohesive’, and inclusive’ society with the generous support provided by the Centre, for all the efforts and priorities.
“We have all been witness to the record pace set in all sectors, whether it is providing Ghar, Bijli, Paani, Swacchta, Sadak, rail, air and port connectivity to people. Wherever you see, the extreme dedication to the nation and state through ‘kartavya’ and ‘sewa bhaav’ of my government is reflected,” he said.
From the third largest start-up ecosystem to improved road safety, port & rail traffic, highways, decline in death rate, improved sex ratio and substantial reduction in teacher-pupil ratio, our ‘Vikas’ yatra has gone from strength to strength, Parnaik said.
“Fulfilling the aspirations of the youth, livelihood generation through self- employment opportunities while continuing with our investment in infrastructure for improved connectivity has been and will be the vision of my government for a prosperous and happy Arunachal Pradesh in the Amrit Kaal and becoming a ‘developed’ state of a ‘developed’ nation!,” he added.
Referring to the prudent financial reforms of the state, the governor said that the guiding pillar ‘Governance Reforms and Prudent Financial Management’ is aligned with the ‘Financial Sector’ guiding pillar of the ‘Saptarshi’.
The government has ensured that more resources are spent on socially useful and economically productive investments while not defaulting on any commitments in terms of loan repayments, salaries & wages, and pension dues, Parnaik pointed out.
“Our guiding pillar ‘Investment in Human Capital’ is aligned with the ‘Youth Power’ guiding pillar of the ‘Saptarshi’. My Government envisions a future with accessible and quality education and learning available for all,” the governor said.
He added, “To become ‘Viksit Arunachal’, we must become Atma Nirbhar Arunachal first. That is why this is one of the key strategic pillars of our vision, where key sectors must contribute to make the state self-sufficient.”
Parnaik added that the unprecedented progress achieved by the state was due to making substantial investments towards enhancing connectivity, fostering cultural exchange, boosting tourism and facilitating trade. “As a result of focused investment in the road sector, in the last 8 years, there has been a 91 per cent increase in length of highways from 1,042 km in 2015-16 to 1,992 km in 2022-2023 and 64 per cent increase in overall road length. The road density has increased from 36.65 Sq Km to 65.99 Sq Km since 2015-16 and 195 bridges have been built to connect the previously unconnected areas,” he said.
The governor added that the state is looking ahead to an additional 2,857 km of national highways, which are slated for construction, with an allocation of Rs 44,000 crore by the Centre. The Vibrant Village Programme (VVP) is a shining example of synergy and convergence to create infrastructure in the remotest areas of the state, Parnaik said.
“With the motto ‘connectivity to activity to vibrancy’ in our border areas, 1,452 villages have been systematically mapped, 455 priority villages have been identified for development, and 252 border habitations have been connected through the construction of 2,506 km of roads, to improve ease of living of remote rural communities,” he pointed out.
As a result of these interventions, we have started witnessing the welcome reverse migration in many border area localities. I am confident that sustained focus of the government on the VVP will further promote activity and vibrancy in these areas, Parnaik added.
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