Governor addresses legislative assembly
ITANAGAR, Jun 4: Governor BD Mishra addressed the first session of the state’s 7th legislative assembly on Tuesday, and outlined the priority areas of the Pema Khandu government.
The legal hurdles in setting up the 2000 mw Lower Subansiri hydroelectric project (HEP) have been settled, and the National Hydro Power Corporation is going to start the construction shortly, Mishra said.
He said all necessary steps would be taken to operationalize and commission the 600 mw Kameng HEP and the 24 mw Dikshi HEP also.
“The government will focus on small hydel projects as well, and will also develop a comprehensive policy to harness solar and wind energy,” he said.
The governor in his address also condemned the brutal assassination of MLA Tirong Aboh and 10 others.
“We strongly condemn this brutal act of violence. To bring the perpetrators to justice in a swift manner, the case is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency,” he said.
He said law and order and security remain the top priority of the state government. Modernization of the police force, setting up an efficient and robust intelligence system, and ensuring prompt investigation and swift prosecution are the pillars of effective law and order administration, he said.
“The state government is committed to give our citizens a safe, secure and violence-free Arunachal, for which we shall deal with all law and order violations with an iron hand,” Mishra said, adding that the government will undertake a massive overhaul and modernization of the security apparatus of the state “to ensure that all our citizens live in a fearless atmosphere, wherever they may be in the state.”
Acknowledging that abuse of narcotic substances is tearing families apart and destroying young lives in the state, he said the government will soon create a state narcotics control bureau to fight the drug menace.
On revenue, Mishra said there has been an exponential growth of 31 percent in the state’s tax revenues this year.
“This steady growth over the last two years is a direct result of our clear objective of increasing the state’s own resources and reducing the state’s financial dependency,” he said. “The state’s own resources, which were at Rs 919.77 crore in 2014-15, have reached a record new high of nearly Rs 2000 crore in this financial year.”
On industry and investment, the governor said “a new industrial policy to unlock our latent industrial potential shall be implemented at the earliest.”
He said a robust single-window clearance system is being instituted in the state, with the industries department as the nodal agency, “for all approvals and necessary compliance assistance.”
Mishra said emphasis would be given to information technology, road connectivity, infrastructure, drinking water, sanitation, and education.
“Financial inclusion, health, skill development and employment generation, agriculture, forests and environment, tourism and sports are other areas that have been accorded priority by the government,” he said.
The governor also said the municipal and panchayat elections in the state are to be held at the earliest.
On housing, he said the government is committed to provide 25,000 houses to the citizens.
On administrative transparency, he said the government has ensured that procurement of goods and services by all government departments are to be made through the “central, transparent and online platform” – the GeM portal – thereby removing all leakages and wastage in the system. (Raj Bhavan)
