Arunachal: Governor graced the 72nd Republic Day celebration at Itanagar

ITANAGAR-  The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh Brig. (Dr.) B. D. Mishra (Retd.) graced the 72nd Republic Day celebration which was organised at Indira Gandhi Park, Itanagar. The Governor unfurled the National Flag and inspected the Republic Day parade, which was commanded by Sivendu Bhusan, IPS, He took salute of the Police and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) marching contingents and addressed the gathering.

In his Republic Day address, the Governor said that on the 26th day of January 1950, India adopted its own Constitution and became a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic. This day reminds us of the responsibility we have taken upon ourselves to build a society free from social discrimination, and religious prejudices and security to all our citizens Justice, Liberty, Equality and to promote among them all, fraternity, he said.

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The Governor called upon the people to stand for transparency and efficiency of the administrative machinery for public welfare. He said that the State Government led by the Chief Minister  Pema Khandu is fully committed to it.

The Governor urged upon the people of the State to pledge on the occasion of the 72nd Republic Day of India to make Arunachal Pradesh a model State of the North East India. He said that despite the challenges due to intense hardships and unpredictability posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic last year, the State Government has taken a slew of initiatives on various fronts to build a strong and self-reliant Arunachal Pradesh.

The Governor thanked every member of ‘Team Arunachal’, especially the doctors, health and other frontline workers, who for the last 10 months have been working tirelessly to protect us from the COVID-19 Pandemic. On behalf of the people of Arunachal Pradesh, he paid homage to the four COVID-19 warriors, who have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. He also thanked the people of Arunachal Pradesh for their unprecedented cooperation and standing united in these challenging times.

Expressing pride of the fact that two ‘Made in India’ vaccines are now available for COVID-19, the Governor cautioned all not to lower our guards. He appealed to all to continue to take precautions such as wearing a mask, washing hands regularly, avoiding spitting in public places, and observing physical distancing.

In the education sector, the Governor said that the State has made commendable progress, which has been duly recognised by a leading National Daily by declaring Arunachal Pradesh as the Most Improved Small State in Education. Rajiv Gandhi University in the State has received the title of Best Central University during the 3rd Himalayan Educators Summit held recently.  He said that the State Government is focusing on improving the quality of education in the State by initiating the ‘Chief Minister’s Award for Excellence in Quality Education’ to recognize performing teachers. Under the Arunachal Pradesh Teachers Transfer & Posting Policy 2020, the government is working to rationalize and provide teachers wherever needed. It is also starting ‘Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Centres’ in 300 schools across the State.

The Governor informed that very soon a National Cadets Corps (NCC) Academy will be established in Arunachal Pradesh. Girl students will be inducted in the Sainik School, East Siang from the coming academic session and the State Government is also planning to start a new Sainik School for girls in the State.

The Governor said that the prime focus of the State Government will be to bring educational reforms in tune with the New National Education Policy in 2021-22.

The Governor said that the lessons drawn from COVID-19 Pandemic is that Agriculture in all situations is the key for both, economic development and self-reliance and took pride that the farmers living in the remote district of Anjaw have shown some exemplary achievements by exporting large cardamoms to the international market. He said that the State government has also successfully formed 25 Farmers Producers Companies (FPC) comprising more than 8000 farmers and 10 Farmers Producers Organizations (FPO) comprising 1000 farmers. In its effort to increase farmers’ income, under Arunachal Pradesh Bee & Honey Mission, the State Government has expanded farmer’s activities in 10 potential districts. We have also taken up a plan to certify large areas as organic, he said.

The Governor said that to cater for the milk requirement of the Capital Region, the Government has strengthened Arun Dairy Plant at Karsingsa with new machineries. Under the Chief Minister’s White Revolution Scheme, the Government has distributed dairy Cows to 610 selected farmer beneficiaries and under the Arun Pig Development Scheme 4800 Piglets have been distributed to selected farmer beneficiaries to take up piggery for livelihood generation.

The Governor informed that under the Mukhya Mantri Neel Kranti Abhiyan and Blue Revolution in the State, the State Government has clubbed together all the activities related to fisheries. The State Government has initiated a promising scheme of ‘Cluster Farming’ thereby creating 60 clusters with 4000 hectares of land which would adopt modern agriculture and horticulture methods and practices. Our scheme for providing 1.5 lakh Nutritional Kitchen Gardens has been a great success, he said.

Congratulating the State Election Commission (SEC) and the State Government for the smooth and successful conduct of the Panchayati Raj and Municipality Elections, the Governor said that the newly elected members have a great responsibility of carrying on our democratic values by demonstrating transparent, unbiased, and development-oriented performance.

The Governor said that the State Government is actively pursuing the ‘CM Comprehensive Road Development Plan’ to provide all-weather road connectivity to all the administrative headquarters and informed that the preparation of Detail Project Report (DPR) for the Frontier Highway would commence soon. He expressed his gratefulness to the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for approving, under the Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan, the Scheme to provide 4G mobile connectivity to 1683 remotely located villages in Arunachal Pradesh by 2022. This will bring welcome change in people’s life by providing them the much needed digital empowerment, the Governor said.

In the Power Sector, the Governor informed that two units of 600 MW of the Kameng Project have already been commissioned and the remaining two units will be commissioned soon and that the 24 MW ‘Dikshi’ Project has also been commissioned. The work on the Subansiri Lower Project is going on at full speed. He expressed hope that its two units will be commissioned by August 2022 and said that the State Government is working on various projects to tap the potential of small and micro hydel projects.

The Governor said that the Government of India has set the target for achieving 24×7 power for all by 2022. Consequently the State Government is putting in all efforts to ensure that the electricity connectivity of all the districts with the National Grid is established before the due date. This will ensure that our villages & rural households get electrification. This will improve the power supply system in urban areas and ensure supply of quality power to consumers with ease of transaction, he said.

The Governor said that the State Government has planned to provide potable tap water connection to all rural households by 2023, one year ahead of the National target, under Jal Jeevan Mission.

Highlighting on security initiatives, the Governor said that maintenance of law and order has been the top priority of the State Government, while proudly informing that Kharsang Police Station has been declared as the Third Best in the country by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. He also informed that all women police stations have been opened in Itanagar, Seppa, Tawang and Pasighat for women safety and to fight crime against women. We have plans to establish similar Women Police Stations in the remaining districts, he said.

On social front, the Governor informed that under the Tribal Development Plan, 202 projects covering various sectors like Education, Health, Agriculture, Horticulture, Fisheries and Veterinary including the projects under the Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Schemes have been implemented. In addition to this, 112 projects were also taken up under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK). He said that despite the Corona Pandemic, the State Government has continued the ‘Supplementary Nutrition Program’ and taken it to the doorsteps of each pregnant and lactating mother and children in the 0-6 age group. He commended the Anganwadi workers for the great work.

The Governor said that entrepreneurship development has been another focus area of the State Government. He said that more than 200 entrepreneurs have been benefited under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Swavalamban Yojana for taking up various sustainable and employment generating projects. Under Arunachal Pradesh Entrepreneurship Development Program, 100 Start-ups have been shortlisted through IIM, Calcutta Innovation Park. The top 50 winners will be placed under incubation and mentored by IIM, Kolkata, he said.

The Governor said 3,535 businesses under Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme was sanctioned to help the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Sector kick start their businesses affected by COVID-19. 769 loans have been approved under Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors’ Atma Nirbhar Nidhi scheme to help the vulnerable section of society cope with the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Governor informed that the State government is putting in all efforts to attract global investment into Arunachal Pradesh to harness its enormous economic potential. A Single Window Clearance Portal for obtaining licenses, permits, renewals, auto-renewals clearances and NOC’s online has been developed and will be operative soon.

The Governor said that various State Government projects like Smart Roads, Multilevel Car Parking, Developments of Parks, and open spaces, Street Lighting, Solid Waste Management, River Front Development etc. which will benefit the city dwellers are in the pipeline. These projects are being implemented under the Smart City Mission in Pasighat and Itanagar.

The Governor said that Arunachal Pradesh has also adopted the campaign of the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi’s to go ‘VOCAL FOR LOCAL’. For this, State Government offices have been mandated to procure their required demand items from local NGOs, Societies, Self Help Groups, and Entrepreneurs only.

The Governor said that under the ‘Chief Minister Skill Advance Certificate Course’ Scheme for harnessing the tourism potential of the State, training on adventure sports like Mountaineering, Trekking, River Rafting, Mountain Biking, Paragliding, Search and Rescue etc. is being provided through NIMAS, Dirang. He said that the State Government has also conducted series of tourist attraction events like Namdapha Butterfly Meet 2020, Arunachal Open Paragliding Accuracy Championship 2020, Siang Rush, Signature Motorcycle Rallies, Trans Arunachal Drive, Brahmaputra Aamantran Abhiyaan etc.

The Governor said that in order to promote tourism activities in the State in post COVID period, the State Government has launched Dekho Apna Pradesh campaign to promote intra-state tourism among the people of the State. He mentioned that recently, Government of India has approved a major project under ‘Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD)’ scheme for development of Parshuram kund in Lohit District.

The Governor said that since the State lies in a natural calamities prone region, the State is putting in all efforts to be ready for any eventuality. He informed that the State has conducted 1st Ever State Level Mock Exercise and conducted the Coordination and Orientation Exercise on Incident Response System (IRS) followed by tabletop exercise in all the 26 districts including the Capital Region. We have also established Regional Disaster Response Centers at 5 places, namely, Bomdila, Ziro, Pasighat, Tezu and Khonsa.

The Governor said that for dialect preservation, Arunachal Pradesh government is promoting indigenous languages and indigenous culture. It is working on Linguistic Survey of Arunachal Pradesh and is taking up construction of Indigenous Heritage Centers including Government of India funded Tagore Cultural Complex in a phased manner covering all our districts which will help in preservation and promotion of Indigenous activities in the State.

The Governor said that in the State’s endeavor to train the youth of the State in games and sports, National Centre of Excellence has been set up at Sange Laden Sports Academy, Itanagar. It will have state-of-the-art facilities like International Standard playfields with allied facilities, hostel buildings, administrative blocks, training centers etc. The Sange Laden Sports Academy has also been declared as Khelo India State level Centre of Excellence. Golden Jubilee Higher Secondary School, Pasighat and State Sports Academy, Miao have been approved for District level Khelo India Centres of Excellence for various disciplines in the State.

The Governor, who has been advocating for merit in every competitive examination informed that in the last one year, Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) has carried out recruitment drive for about 352 government jobs, while the recruitment process for 688 posts are under various stages and we are determined to do it in utmost fairness. Arunachal Pradesh Staff Selection Board has carried out recruitment of 849 posts and has also prepared an exhaustive calendar for future recruitments, he said.