Governor highlights state govt activities
Correspondent
KOHIMA, JANUARY 26
IN a spectacular display commemorating the 50th anniversary of statehood of Nagaland, a MI-17 chopper of the Indian Air Force flew low past the Secretariat Plaza spraying confetti over the parade ground during the Republic Day parade here in the state capital on Sunday.Governor Dr Ashwani Kumar, on the occasion of the 65th Republic Day at the Secretariat Plaza, Kohima talked about the achievements of the state government and made a clarion call to the people of Nagaland to reflect on these as they chart out new course of action for the future.
The Governor stated that India has made tremendous progress since the beginning of her Republic 64 years ago and as it is poised to become a leading nation of the world. Nagaland, as the 16th senior most state the Indian Republic, has contributed in equal measure in “this exciting adventure”, he said.
Dr Kumar also, on the occasion, highlighted the government’s initiatives on various fronts.
EDUCATION: The Governor said that the government strives to promote quality education to all students and as part of this, it has decided to rationalize teacher deployment in all government schools. The department is planning to complete this exercise before the beginning of the next academic session, he stated. He also listed out various other activities in the school education sector such as upgradation of government schools, establishment of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas etc. and said the rights and objectives of Right to Education are aimed to be achieved through such measures. On the higher and technical education front, the Governor said the department is implementing Community College Scheme sponsored by the central government at Government College Dimapur and St. Joseph’s College Jakhama. This scheme is proposed to be implemented in more colleges and polytechnics in the coming years, he said.
HEALTH: The Governor said that health of the people is an important index of development and expressed happiness that the state of Nagaland has recently been adjudged the Best Performing State in health care among smaller category states by the India Today Group. He said it is heartening that there has been 9% decline in the infant morality rate of Nagaland as compared to the national
average of 3%. He expressed hope that the Government of India will soon sanction a medical college soon for Nagaland, fulfilling the long pending need of the state.
POWER: The Governor highlighted that the power department has commissioned 1 MW Lang Hydro Electric Project during the current financial year and with this project, the state’s total hydro power generation capacity has been increased to 27 MW. He said the government endeavours to take up more viable generation project in the coming years including the one at Dikhu and Tizu River. He added that in order to alleviate existing bottlenecks in transmission across the state, the government has initiated a long term improvement plan with financial assistance from the World Bank.
AGRICULTURE: Nagaland as an agrarian state with over 71% of its population living in rural areas and solely dependant on agricultureand allied activities for their livelihood, the Governor said that the government’s effort to push up food grain production have shown result. While reminding that Nagaland was adjudged the best performing state in agriculture amongst the small state category by the India Today Group, he said the government has also come out with a vision “Food for All by
2025”. He expressed the need to focus attention towards marketing of crops like pulses, tea, cardamom, Naga Chilly King and ginger etc. so as to maximize profit for our farmers.
ROADS: Stating that roads are the life of the hills and integral to economic growth, the Governor has expressed happiness to observe that the Roads & Bridges department is displaying new initiatives and enthusiasm in therecent months to improve the condition of the roads. He urged the people to respect the roads and to look upon them as their own property. He also stated that the much awaited Foothill Road which has commenced is likely to develop into a super highway, providing the crucial connectivity between the northern and southern parts of the state. Future development of the state are expected to take place through the establishment of Special Development Zones.
YOUTH & EMPLOYMENT: The Governor highlighted the state government’s initiatives to see that the educated youth in the state are gainfully employed, particularly outside that government sector. He made special mention of the recently held Job Oriented Skill Development Mela at Dimapur and the ‘Impact 5000 by 18’ programme which was launched by the YRS and YouthNet. He also stated that the revival of Tuli Paper Mill, which was approved by the Central government in June 2013, will open up thousands of job opportunities for the people of Nagaland.
FOOD & CIVIL SUPPLIES: Dr. Ashwani Kumar said following the recent enactment of the National Food Security Act by the Government of India, the state government is also taking steps to implement the same in Nagaland. He stated that the department is continuing to service the people through PDS by operating 74 public distribution centres (PDCs) and 238 fair price shops in both urban and villages. He said all the village councils have been given the status of fair price shop in rural areas for distribution of food grains under BPL, APL, AAY and Annapurna.
RURAL DEVELOPMENT: With most of the state’s population living in the villages, the thrust of the government’s development strategy is to improve the rural economy, the Governor said. He added that towards this end, the department of Rural Development has been implementing several major development programmes for the rural people through the participation of the village community. He mentioned that under MGNREG Act, 100 days of employment to every household is generated and so far a total of 4.03 lakh job cards have been issued. Under IAY, the total number of
houses to be constructed has been targeted at 10,439, he stated and also highlighted launch of
Nagaland Rural Livelihood Mission which is aimed to reach out to 1.6 lakh poor households through
Women SHGs. He said field implementation in 156 villages across 9 districts had been started.
VETERINARY & ANIMAL HUSBANDRY: In line with the state being a major meat consuming state, the Governor said the government in its endeavour to attain self sufficiency in meat production, is implementing a special scheme “Rural Piggery Production” by involving 152 piggery farmers across the state.
Later in the programme, the Governor released a book called ‘A Compendium of Various Activities of State Departments in Commemoration of 50 years of Statehood’ while the Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio released the District Human Development Reports of six districts- Wokha, Dimapur, Longleng, Mokokchung, Kiphire and Tuensang.
Other highlights of the programme included presentation of Governor’s Awards, screening of a documentary on 50 years statehood anniversary by IPR, cultural programme by NEZCC, tug-of-war and band display.
The Governor also inaugurated Flexi Banner Display Competition of 40 different departments and photo exhibition of IPR.
