Correspondent
PASIGHAT, 29 Aug: Urban Development Minister Balo Raja, accompanied by Urban Affairs Commissioner (Eastern Zone) Vivek Pandey and Town Planning Director Likha Suraj inaugurated the new office of the Pasighat Municipal Council (PMC) at Gumin Nagar here in East Siang district on Thursday.
The minister earlier inaugurated a town planner’s office in Gumin Nagar and visited a number of construction projects within the township and took stock of their progress.
The minister is on a two-day visit to the district.
The new PMC office building, worth Rs 8.91 crores,was funded under the 15th Finance Commission and the construction activities were monitored by PMC engineers.
Addressing the local people after the inauguration, the minister asked them to “maintain the ongoing trend of development in Pasighat.” He expressed hope that “every facility found in the state capital would be made available in Pasighat smart city in the near future.”
The minister urged the people to work with responsibility and help the government departments for successful implementation of government-sponsored projects.
Pandey suggested to the PMC councillors to “enforce service taxes for revenue generation and adopt self-sustenance policy.” He urged the urban dwellers to be “smart in your behavior and activities to make your town a smart city.”
MLA Tapi Darang, who was also present on the occasion, laid stress on preparation of a joint master plan for phase-wise development of the urban areas.
PMC Chief Councillor Okiam Moyong Borang informed the minister that the urban body is “running amidst myriad problems as there is no required number of official staff, workers and other official assets.”
“Lack of residential quarters for municipal officials and other workers is a standing problem of the PMC authority,” she said. She further requested the minister and the commissioner to grant sufficient funds to mitigate the office crisis.
East Siang DC Tayi Taggu presented an overview of the infrastructure development in the district and urged the officials to work with dedication.
The PMC was constituted in 2013 with a total of 12 elected councillors. However, the number of municipal wards was reduced to eight, as per norms of population pattern.
