Morung Express News
Kohima | March 24
With an annual minimum requirement of Rs 300 crore, the repair and maintenance of existing roads remains the most challenging issue in the State.
The development of roads and its maintenance will therefore, continue to be a challenge given the paucity of the state financial position, said R&B Minister, Vikheho Swu today at the ongoing NLA session in Kohima.
He also suggested utilising the 2017-2018 NLCPR allocation for the State to repair and develop all 11 districts and ADC headquarter roads instead of proposing new roads.
“Secondly, beginning from next year (2018-2023) next five year plan, why don’t the State Government utilise one year of road development program to repair and develop old roads which is permissible under ministry of road transport,” he asked.
The Minister said most roads in the state are constructed under central funding such as ISC, E&I, CRF, NEC and in such projects, repair and strengthening of road after some years is permitted. “In other words, my submission is four years we propose new roads, and one year we go back to repair and develop old roads,” he stated.
While the R&B department develops road, the revenue collection is done by the Department of Transport. Therefore, Swu suggested that apart from the normal Non Plan allocation given to the department, Road Tax, Revenue and Vehicle tax be given back to the Department of R&B.
He also spoke on a varied amount of topics including the economy of the state, the recent turmoil over the ULB election and the Naga political issue.
He stressed on the need to realise that since the change of funding pattern saying “we are no longer a welfare state.” The challenge now, he stated, is to “evolve ourselves into that of a resourceful developing state.”
He suggested various steps like cutting down or economising all government expenditure, improving revenue and effectively rationalising manpower in all the departments within the shortest possible time.
The main reason for deterioration of the economy, Swu viewed, was failure to develop rural areas. “Our resources, our consumption all will come from nowhere but rural areas. As of now our resource, our daily consumption is all imported from our neighbouring states. Our work force in the rural areas has started migrating to Kohima and Dimapur leaving the villages only with elderly people,” he stated.
Swu said all ADC HQs and other administrative HQs must be brought up to functioning and excess employees in the directorate should be rationalised out to the sub-divisions.
Meanwhile lauding the efforts put into making Nagaland Vision 2030 document, Swu hoped that this is not just another document released to be kept in the shelves. To make his point, the Minister referred to the first document of the NPF led DAN Government ‘Vision 2025: Food for All’ which was released on 12th July 2012, which according to the Minister has not been implemented and realised from it.
The R&B Minister also informed that the IT Department is set to introduce a Software Technological Park of India in Kohima which will cater to high end research and development software export for entrepreneur, and IT Cadre Program, where IT department can depute its staff to other department for IT related works.
On the Naga Political Issue, he stated that despite the NPF being only a facilitator to the peace talks, “we must continue to give our effort to let other Naga political parties who are not part of the dialogue now to come to negotiation and the peace process. We must also vigorously ask the Government of India to settle the Indo- Naga political issue at the earliest possible time.”
