ITANAGAR, 16 Aug: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday said that his government would undertake tough reforms and would not hesitate to take on legacy issues for a better Arunachal Pradesh.
Unfurling the national flag at the Dera Natung Government College here, Khandu said that the decades-old boundary dispute between Arunachal and Assam has been handled in the right way for arriving at an amicable solution.
“Both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are working and approaching the issue with open minds and clear intentions. We are hopeful that this issue will be resolved sooner than later. The recent Namsai Declaration is the decisive step in this direction,” he said.
Khandu called upon the people of the state to rededicate themselves to achieve the goal of a better and brighter Arunachal, safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
“Our vision for ‘Arunachal@2047’, when we will celebrate 100 years of our independence and 75 years of the naming of Arunachal Pradesh, is to achieve highest standards in six pillars – governance reforms and prudent fiscal management, future-ready human capital, Atmanirbhar Arunachal, synergy and convergence, and lastly climate resilience,” he said.
“We are committed to walk the extra mile with ‘gati’ (speed) and ‘shakti’ (power) towards attaining the prime minister’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat,” he said.
Arunachal would chart its own journey of achieving a modern and prosperous state, deeply rooted in indigenous traditions, besides bridging the development gaps in the border areas, Khandu said.
“From overhauling infrastructure, health and education system, and governance to the welfare of children, women and farmers, Arunachal Pradesh is writing a new chapter of progress,” he said.
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, drones would be used in health supply chains to deliver vaccines and medicines to distant places of the state, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, he said.
“The ‘medicine from the sky’ programme was launched today, with the first sorties of medicines being delivered in East Kameng district of the state,” the chief minister said.
Khandu said that digital libraries would be set up in three government colleges, providing seamless access to all the digital resources available.
“A memorandum of understanding was signed between the state government and the Rashtriya Raksha University for establishing a campus in Pasighat in East Siang district, which will open opportunities for the youths to join the armed forces and bolster the defence of the region,” he said.
To develop border areas, the border village illumination programme through micro-hydel projects has been launched by the government, under which work on 17 micro-hydro projects has commenced and is expected to be completed in one year, he said.
“While envisioning Arunachal@2047, we aim to create model villages in the remote border areas with the best infrastructure facilities and service to prevent depopulation,” Khandu said. (PTI)
