Monday Musing
[ Ranjit Sinha ]
As normalcy is gradually returning with decreasing numbers of Covid-19 cases in the state, many questions are hovering over the mind. Some pertinent questions are: How and when will Arunachal become economically self-reliant? Is there any bold initiative from the government’s side to tap the available resources of the state? Are the government policies being implemented in toto?
Successive governments have prepared a good number of policies for making Arunachal a frontrunner, but many of them remain in paper only as soon as the politicians of the state change parties, depending on the political situation in New Delhi, and form a new government.
Many a times, it is seen that where the previous government gave priority to health and education, the successive government formed by the same political leaders under the banner of a different party gives priority to another sector, as if the expectation of the people in health and education had automatically been fulfilled with the change of guard and party in governance.
It is also seen that the government sometimes gives priority to the industry sector and tries its best to woo foreign investors to invest in the state, without any visible results.
The state cabinet in 2015 had approved the ‘Arunachal Vision – 2030’, but with the change of political colour at the helm of affairs, ‘Vision – 2030’ is apparently losing its vision.
It is not that the state is lagging far behind in terms of development. It has achieved visible development in road and connectivity sectors, and in some extent in health and education sectors. However, there are miles to go.
During my journalism career in Arunachal for more than two decades, I have seen many political upheavals as well as development process, and what matters most is central fund to accelerate developmental activities. Considering the dependency of the state on central funds, I deduce that the ongoing development in many spheres is a natural process in the course of time.
We have many reasons to believe that the Covid-19 pandemic has made us see the world from a different perspective and change the traditional concept of the word ‘development’.
Arunachal Pradesh will develop in the real sense when it will put its own deadline to become a role model for other states of the country in terms of development. For that to happen, the government must find ways to tap the state’s own resources and provide world-class infrastructure in road, education and health sectors, and lastly, provide self-employment opportunities to the youths.
