NAMSAI, 29 Oct: Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs John Barla emphasized the need for creating awareness on various schemes of his ministry meant for the minorities.
“The central government has initiated many schemes for the benefit of the minority communities, but the people belonging to the communities are not being able to avail the benefits of the schemes due to lack of awareness,” Barla said after inaugurating the new school building of the government secondary school (GSS) in
Piyong (Ningroo) in Namsai district, in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, on Friday.
The double-storey school building has been constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK).
Stating that he has come to Arunachal to create awareness about the schemes and benefits provided under the minority affairs ministry, he urged all the elected representatives to learn about the schemes under the ministry and let the benefits of the schemes reach every house in their minority blocks.
He said that the centrally notified minority communities include Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains, as per the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. “The mandate of the ministry includes formulation of comprehensive strategy, policies and programmes for welfare and development of minorities,” he said.
Barla highlighted some of the schemes under the ministry for the welfare of youths, tribals, women, and aged persons in sectors like skill development, school building, tourism, education, etc.
He said that his ministry is giving top priority to the education sector, so that every child of the backward classes gets the minimum required education.
The MoS also urged NGOs to reap the benefits of the subsidized schemes under the ministry. He assured to provide fund for construction of an outdoor stadium in Namsai and a mini-stadium in Chongkham block. He also said that his ministry is planning to construct ‘sadbhavana’ halls in every minority block.
The union minister also visited the PHC in Piyong and the under-construction double-storey girls’ hostel under the PMJVK at the GHSS in Namsai.
The DCM requested the union minister to increase the grants for the minority concentrated blocks/districts in the state.
“The two proposed outdoor stadiums in Namsai and Chongkham under minority affairs are still pending in the ministry,” he said, and requested Barla to grant sanction for the same.
Namsai MLA Chau Zingnu Namchoom urged the union minister to provide Rs 1 crore under the SIDF in the coming financial year for infrastructure development of the GSS in Piyong (Ningroo). The school, the second oldest in the state, established in 1934, has been selected as the model school in Namsai constituency, he said.
Later, the union minister reviewed the status of various schemes implemented under the minority affairs ministry.
MLAs Dasanglu Pul and Jummum Ete Deori, Namsai ZPC Urmila Mancheykhun, DC RK Sharma, HoDs and public leaders were also present on the occasion. (DCM’s PR Cell)
