Nagaland Govt. to provide interest-free loans to micro-farmers, entrepreneurs

Our Reporter
Dimapur, June 14 (EMN): Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio informed that the state government will provide loans without interest to micro-farmers and entrepreneurs, by selecting and interviewing interested persons from all the districts.

He was speaking during the inauguration programme of the Department of Development for Under-Developed Areas (DUDA) Guest House at Sovima on Tuesday.

He said that the government will pay the interest and the beneficiaries will get a loan but the person has to provide a guarantor from the village authority.

Rio also stated that the eastern region is now different and one should not have the mentality of reservation and backwardness. He stated that the area has advanced in many fields, and cited the recent HSLC and HSSLC results; stating that there were many toppers and were performing better than some advanced tribes.

“You are achieving in education, connectivity and infrastructure”, he said.

He asks the leaders and people to focus on linking Agri-production in the market and also home furnishing products through digital prints. He also asked the concerned department to keep a separate budget to give continuous training in the IT sector and skills development.

 “If needed more, I will also add from corpus fund”, he assured.

He encouraged the people to not only aim for government jobs and complain about unemployment but focus more on self-employment. He encouraged fisheries and breeding farms especially pigs, stating that the pork which comes from outside states are mostly unhealthy.

“Eastern region is very rich in biodiversity, culture and has a unique topography, and so the tourism potential is very high”, he stated. Further, he stated that the department of DUDA should be a game changer, and encouraged them to do much better.

KS Anden Konyak, Secretary of DUDA, shared that the department has made substantial achievements in developing underdeveloped areas through the Under Developed Ares Programme (UDAP), Border Area Development Programme (BADP), Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana (PMVDY) under TRIFED MOTA GOI.

Giving a brief report on the construction of DUDA guest house, he stated that the department purchased the plot of land with a partially constructed building for an amount of INR 2.50 crore in December 2012; the government allocated INR 3.50 crore under SPA and INR 4 crore under UDAP for this project.

He updated that the work of construction was awarded to SAATLZ Construction and Sons and Affluent Enterprise on February 25, 2014 and November 2015 respectively, and the amount of funds allocated were utilised for guest house, internal electrification, internal water supply, security wall, development of the compound etc.

The plinth area of the building is 15,498 sq. feet.

The guest house consists of three dormitories, four VIP suites, nine single rooms, one conference hall, one kitchen, one waiting room and one mess hall.

He also expressed his gratitude to the government of Nagaland for providing funds despite the financial crunch faced by the government for this project as well as other projects in all the 27 Assembly Constituencies of the underdeveloped areas of the state. 

Further, in order to uplift the people of the underdeveloped areas, he appealed for support from the government and co-operation of the people, in all future endeavours of the department.

S Pangnyu Phom, the convenor of Eastern Naga Legislators Union (ENLU), asked the users of the guest house to maintain it properly as it will help the poorer section of the society in many ways. He also suggested that a guest house can be built in every district headquarters in the eastern region to help the eastern people.

Tsapikiu Sangtam, President of Eastern Naga People’s Organisation, expressed that this was a big initiative since Dimapur is a commercial hub, it can shelter many sick people who come to the city for treatment. He also asked the government to focus on the underdeveloped areas in the region.

L Shahoto Yimkhiung, President of Eastern Naga People’s Union Dimapur, expressed his gratitude and said that the project is a dream come true.  He also requested the leaders to see that no funds meant for development are misused by the public or leaders.

“I believe this house will serve all sections of Nagas and so request everyone who comes to the guest house to maintain properly”, he shared.

Sebastian Zumvü, Village Council Chairman, Sovima, shared that though Sovima is an Angami village, there is a conglomeration of almost all the tribes of Nagaland.

‘This village has open arms to welcome everyone and make Sovima their home, and it is our endeavour to make each inhabitant of Sovima village feel that they belong to Sovima village’, he added.