Chizokho Vero
Kohima | March 27
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio today reiterated that “because of the sound policy of the government, there is an atmosphere of peace and harmony and the pace of development in the last four years have seen a positive momentum on a scale never seen before” adding that it intended to maintain similar pace in the coming year as well.
“We have fulfilled a large number of the promises made to the people in the CMP (Common Minimum Programme). The people of Nagaland are the best judge of our achievements in regard to the fulfillment of the CMP,” said Rio while replying to the debate on budget on the floor of the House this evening.
On the allegation that his government has thrown to winds the CMP, Rio said “this allegation is contrary to truth.” On the Opposition alleging that the “budget has no vision and no policy,” Rio said that the budget has been made with a vision and a clear policy for fulfillment of the promises made to the people.
“We have been bent upon giving the slogan Peace for Development and Development of Peace, a success in all our actions, programmes and policies,” he said.
Rio also stated that anyone who peruses the budget will come to know that “our budget is pro-people and pro-poor,” adding that its fundamental target is to remove poverty and under- development.
“Our sympathies are always with backward brothers and sisters. Be it agriculture, horticulture, industry, connectivity, roads, tourism, rural development and other allied sectors, we have reaped enormous successes,” Rio said.
On corruption and transparency, Rio said that several members admitted to corruption in the past but alleged that during the DAN government it is the lowest; Rio said “How can high rate of corruption and unprecedented development go together? If there is development, it is clear evidence that we have considerably cut down on corruption.”
People will recall that, Rio said, during the previous governments, government servants used to be paid not in time but after a general protest. Plan allocations used to be cut even to the extent of 50 per cent to pay off the government servants.
“Today, we are in an enviable position of managing the state finances which has resulted in boom in development, payment to government servants in time, and increased allocations for key activities,” said the Chief Minister.
On KV Pusa questioning the wisdom of the government in organizing the youth empowerment through festival like Sekrenyi, music and sports and asking how peace will be achieved through these things, Rio said “I must remind him that he must develop a more mature vision of all these matters. Only when we build our strengths on the basis of our culture, tradition and capacity to contribute, we can survive peacefully as a community without being diverted and distracted.”
These activities, he said, therefore contribute to peace in their own ways and to harmony for better understanding.
On the allegations that horticulture activities are being undertaken by the higher strata in the State, Rio said “I have already clarified that, in horticultural activities including floriculture, we need some special facilities like green houses, sprinkler irrigation, expert consultancy and quick transport to key spots for marketing within the state and outside the country, to reap the benefit of cultivation.”
These are now available in towns to start with. We are in the process of spreading out these activities to the rural areas which will surely be done, he said.
Rio stated that a grant of Rs. 365 crores was given to wipe out deficit and this fund was used for that purpose. However, this fund was neither asked for nor given for clearing contractor’s liabilities, which are separately assessed and paid up from time to time.
Rio informed that power situation was bad during off-peak hours due to low generation of power by the Central Power Sectors units from which the state get power.
“Mention has been made of non-interference in group clashes. Let me however once again state that while enforcing the Ceasefire Ground rules is the responsibility of GOI, the state’s own law enforcing machineries have not and will not shy away from its responsibility of protecting its citizens. It has also been alleged that many civilians have been killed and government is said to have lost confidence of the people. While we share the grief of the unfortunate bereaved families, to say that the government has lost the confidence of the people, is totally untrue. Law and order situation have been good by and large”, said Rio.
The Chief Minister also stated that the PM’s package announcement of Rs. 400 crore for the four laning between Dimapur and Kohima is being pursued with all seriousness. Survey and investigation have been completed and DPR is being finalized by National Highways Authority of India. Sanction is awaited from Government of India.
Rio said that whatever suggestions that have been made from the Opposition side for making improvement, have been taken note of. Acknowledging the Opposition benches for making constructive suggestions, Rio sought close cooperation in all our endeavours to serve the people.
“We must work together, and think together, “ Rio said adding mere criticism for the sake of criticism and bringing about conflicts and misunderstanding in our working, will only hamper the progress which we aim to deliver to the people.
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