Itanagar, March 6 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh Governor P B Acharya today exhorted members of the state Assembly to play a constructive role in taking the state forward.
Delivering his address on the inaugural day of the budget session of the Assembly, Acharya urged lawmakers to rise to the occasion and propel the state to greater heights.
Reminding about the goals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, the Governor said the members should show the right path, lead by example and be an inspiration for thousands of youth of the state.
“The nation has a lot of expectations from this government led by a young and modern Chief Minister. The youth of the state have huge expectations from the members of this House and from the government. Politics must be fought on the electoral battleground, but never be allowed to come in the path of development and progress,” he said.
Outlining the policies and programmes of the government, Acharya said the priority of the government would be to usher in long term governance reforms, to develop Arunachal as the organic hub and fruit bowl of India, to position the state as the centre for wellness, spiritual and adventure tourism, to create policies and institutions which encourage entrepreneurship, employment generation and skill development.
“It is crucial that our villages be provided with infrastructure facilities, which make rural life vibrant. The government will be taking concrete measures for rural transformation through planned investments in rural infrastructure,” The Governor said. “In spite of the fiscal challenges, the government has managed to maintain a tight financial discipline this year and even gone ahead and implemented the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission,” he said.
Acharya said the overall priority for development of the state was on three Es Education, Electricity and Employment.
Special emphasis would be on higher education, harnessing the hydro-power potential of the state and empowerment of the youth and women through skill development, he said.
“The culture of bandhs and disruptions, which vitiated the work environment over the last few years, is now a matter of past and the work culture and ethics of governance have taken precedence,” Acharya said.
The Governor pointed out that one of the key impediments which has hindered economic growth of the state was the absence of robust connectivity.
“This has a direct impact on the inflow of private investments as well as tourist inflow. The Centre had recently announced highway projects of more than Rs 50,000 crore to be constructed over the next three years. The Trans Arunachal Highway has made steady progress and some niggling problems of land acquisition have been overcome,” he said.
A blueprint of the Frontier Highway and an East-West Industrial Corridor and railway corridor has been prepared which was being discussed with the Centre for funding, the Governor said adding, rural road connectivity has also progressed considerably.
“The government is working on investment policies and frameworks, which will help attract private investment and create job opportunities,” he said.
The governor also said the government’s focus area would be gender equality and women empowerment.
