BJP-led govt replaced 30 years of scam in Tripura — Modi

Agartala, March 10 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that BJP-led government in Tripura replaced corruption, commission and ‘Hartal’ (shut down) culture of 30 years of governance.

Addressing a gathering virtually from Delhi, Modi without naming the previous Left Front government said that the ‘double engine’ government (centre and state) during the last three years with new investments has been changing the earlier scenario of the closure of industry.

He claimed that the state government employees who were earlier hassled over the salary on time are now getting higher scale of salary as per 7th pay commission recommendations.

“For the first time, MSP (Minimum Support Price) has been decided in Tripura where farmers used to face many problems for selling their produce. With the environment of ease of doing business, exports from Tripura in terms of volume have increased by five times.”

The Prime Minister informed that in the past six years, the Centre has taken care of every requirement for the development of Tripura.

Citing the significant hike in the central allocation for the state, Modi said that Tripura had received INR 3,500 crore for central development schemes in between 2009-2014 whereas, between 2014-2019 more than INR 12,000 crore has been provided.

Modi said that the ‘double engine’ government has transformed Tripura from a power deficit state to a power surplus one.

He listed other transformation brought in by the ‘double engine’ government to the state like connecting two lakh rural households with piped drinking water, providing 2.5 lakh free gas connection, making every village in Tripura open defecation free, 50,000 pregnant women receiving the benefit of ‘Matru Vandana Yojana’, 40,000 poor families getting their new homes.

The Prime Minister said that connectivity related infrastructure has seen tremendous improvement in the last three years.

Referring to the HIRA (Highways, I-ways, Railways and Airways) development for Tripura, he cited the rapid work for the airport, sea-link for internet in Tripura, rail link and waterways in this regard.

Modi said the inauguration and laying of foundation stones of nine projects on Tuesday are efforts to make Agartala a better city and Tripura a better state in the country.

He said that decades old 35,000 Reang refugee (who fled to Tripura from Mizoram following ethnic strife) problem found a solution due to the efforts of the government.

The PM also expressed hope that the INR 600 crore package will bring positive change in the lives of Bru people.

He touched upon the rich heritage of the state and said that renaming of the Agartala airport after Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya is a mark of respect for his vision for the development of Tripura.

Modi expressed happiness at the opportunity for honouring the people who have served the rich culture and literature of Tripura like Thanga Darlong, Satyaram Reang and Benichandra Jamatia, who during the past three years got the Padma Shri awards for the outstanding works in the field of art and culture.

The Prime Minister said that the bamboo based local art is being promoted under Pradhanmantri Van Dhan Yojna, giving new opportunities to local tribes.

He inaugurated and laid foundation stones of nine mega projects worth INR 3,518 crore including the 1.9-km-long “Maitre Setu” (friendship bridge), built at a cost of INR 133 crore over river Feni connecting southern Tripura with Bangladesh’s Ramgarh.

Besides the Feni bridge, Modi inaugurated the Integrated Command and Control Centre in Agartala (INR 135 crore), 48 km portions of National Highway-08 in between Agartala and Udaipur (INR 765 crore), 4,000 urban houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Urban) (INR 813 crore) and PWD Roads (INR 63 crore).

The PM also laid the foundation stone for four projects — Integrated Check Posts in southern Tripura’s border town Sanroom (worth INR 232 crore), Kailashahar–Khowai National Highway-208 (worth INR 1,078 crore), Multilevel car parking-cum-commercial complex (worth INR 200 crore) and upgradation and widening of existing airport road from two lanes to four lanes (worth INR 96 crore).

Tripura Governor Ramesh Bais and Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb among others also spoke in the gatherings.

Tuesday’s rally and the functions were organised to mark the completion of three years of Bharatiya Janata Party-Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura government in the state.