Itanagar MLA Techi Kaso on Tuesday alleged that the planning department is sitting over the proposal for nine important bridge projects in the capital region.
Considering the worsening traffic condition in the state capital, these bridges are of massive importance and should be considered by the state government.
Successive governments in the state have neglected the state capital and no sincere attempts were made to improve the infrastructure, especially roads. Most of the present roads are in a poor state and no major road projects, barring the ongoing four-lane Itanagar-Banderdewa highway project, have been taken up.
Unfortunately, while roads have been neglected funds have been provided to individuals for construction of retaining walls, drains, etc in private lands.
On paper, the government shows as if a huge amount of fund is being provided to the state capital, but in reality most of the fund goes into the pockets of individuals and are of no use to the common people.
To his credit, Chief Minister Pema Khandu, to a certain extent, has managed to curb this practice. He has made attempts to improve the road and other infrastructure in the state capital.
But the culture of providing funds for ‘individual scheme’ which benefits only a few still continues, especially in the state capital.
In this coming budget, the chief minister should focus on projects which benefit the people, like bridges, roads, hospitals, etc.
Nine bridge projects of the capital region are pending in the planning office. The people of the capital complex will be waiting to see how many of them are cleared in the coming days. This will give a fair idea of how serious the government is on improving road and bridge infrastructure in the capital.