Work for development of villages — Union minister

Our Reporter
Dimapur, Oct. 28 (EMN): Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Kapil Moreshwar Patil on Thursday stated that formation of the all-party government in Nagaland revealed its desire for development and termed it as a step towards progress.

He stated this during the inauguration of Thahekhu Village Council Hall-cum-Multipurpose Building at Thahekhu village in Dimapur.

Patil encouraged the gathering to work in unity for the development of the village and expressed hope that Thahekhu would become one of the best villages in Nagaland.

While acknowledging the villagers for their huge monetary contribution towards the construction of the building, he said that the vision of the prime minister is to make villages better than cities.

Towards this, he said the ministers were visiting the villages for development. He expressed hope that Nagaland in collaboration with the Panchayati Raj department, will make villages in the state a model of development.

He went nm to say that Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio too has requested him to increase the development projects for the villages from the Central government, adding that ‘peace for development and development for peace is the slogan of Nagaland.’

Earlier, the Union minister addressed the gathering in Sumi dialect saying: ‘I am very happy to visit Nagaland where pollution is free by nature.’

VDB Secretary, Kuhoi Yepthomi, while delivering a brief report of the project, informed that the total expenditure for the construction of Thahekhu Village Council Hall-cum-Multipurpose Building was around INR 80 lakh.

He added that out of the total amount, INR 10 lakh was from the VDB MGREGA fund, INR 30 lakh from a grant to rural local bodies in non-part 9 and 9A area, and INR 40 lakh contributed through the initiatives of GBs and public donation.