Arunachal government's priority is to uplift rural economy: CM Pema Khandu

 OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has said that his government's priority is to uplift the rural economy and the administration is promoting self-help groups (SHGs) through a livelihood mission, an official statement said on Tuesday.

Khandu, on a two-day visit to Kra Daadi district, laid foundation stones for several important projects at Palin and Chambang on Monday. If villages are developed, a constituency, district, state and the country will develop, he said in a public meeting. He also urged officials of the district to dovetail state and central government schemes at a planning stage so that development activities can be undertaken holistically.

Khandu, after laying the foundation stone for a district secretariat and various projects at Palin, assured officials of enough funds for the execution of all projects in a time-bound manner and insisted that work quality should not be compromised at any cost, the statement said.

"I assure you of accelerated development, but for any development to take place, there should be a conducive atmosphere. This can be created only with the cooperation of people," he said at the public meeting.

Speaking on developmental works undertaken by his government with the support of the Centre, Khandu said the main hurdle road connectivity has been mostly resolved in Kra-Daadi and Kurung Kumey districts. He also expressed satisfaction over the progress of the Trans Arunachal Highway stretch, connecting both districts with the rest of the state. Earlier, it used to take up to eight hours to reach Itanagar from Palin, today it is a matter of about 4 to 5 hours, he said.

The CM also claimed that the lack of road connectivity and other basic facilities in villages of the Kra-Daadi district in the past resulted in the migration of rural folks to places like Ziro and Itanagar. "Things are changing rapidly. I am happy to note that people settled in the state capital have started building homes in their native places and I am sure reverse migration is on the rise," Khandu said.

The Chief Minister laid the foundations for a district secretariat and various other projects to be executed by several government departments at the Kra-Daadi district headquarters. He appreciated the layout plan for the new extension of the district headquarters, prepared by the Urban Development and Housing department, which will be located 5 km away from the present township and spread over an area of 1.27 sq km.

The Chief Minister handed over a sanction order worth Rs 8 crore to the Kra-Daadi Deputy Commissioner to mitigate the material damages caused by a cloudburst in Yangte, Tali and Pipsorang circles on September 28 last year. He also gave cheques worth Rs 2.47 crore as loans to 123 SHGs of the district.

Khandu also appreciated a campaign by SBI and Arunachal State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ArSRLM) for loans during a credit camp organised alongside the public meeting. The CM, later in the day, travelled to Chambang from Palin, where he laid the foundation stone for an inspection bungalow and made several announcements, which include the upgradation of the circle (established in 1982) to SDO/ADC administration, a police outpost and a power sub-division.

Fulfilling one of his earlier assurances, he handed over a copy of the approval to the district administration for the establishment of an RWD sub-division at Chambang. Incidentally, Khandu became the third chief minister to reach Chambang after former CMs Gegong Apang and Dorjee Khandu.

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