Raja seeks revised funding policy for NE
NEW DELHI, 17 Jul: Jairampur town in Changlang district has been conferred the State-Level Swachh Survekshan Award 2024-25 under the category ‘Promising swachh shehar of Arunachal Pradesh’, in recognition of its commendable performance in the national Swachh Survekshan assessment.
The award ceremony was held at the Vigyan Bhavan here on Thursday in the presence of President of India Droupadi Murmu, along with other dignitaries.
Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal presented the award, which was received by Arunachal Pradesh Urban Affairs Minister Balo Raja and Urban Affairs Commissioner Vivek Pandey on behalf of the state.
Following the award ceremony, a meeting of urban development ministers was convened at the same venue, bringing together union and state ministers, commissioners, and senior officials from across the country to deliberate key urban priorities.
The meeting featured sharing of best practices under various missions, as well as roundtable discussions on key themes, including garbage-free cities, water security, urban governance, and housing-service convergence. Dedicated sessions also focused on the progress under the SBM (U) and the PMAY (U).
During the meeting, Raja made a strong appeal for a revised funding policy tailored to the unique needs of hilly and Northeastern states. He urged the ministry to relax the population eligibility criteria to 5,000 for small towns and district headquarters, stating that the current per capita-based funding model under the SBM-U and AMRUT excludes several deserving urban areas in Arunachal.
Emphasizing the state’s ecological importance -with over 80% forest cover – Raja stressed that the vision of a Viksit Bharat must include equitable urban development in frontier regions.
He further called for a separate, flexible funding mechanism for the Northeast, and sought immediate support under the urban challenge fund to address the state’s pending proposals and urban reform agenda.
