Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and others during the launching of Nagaland Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Vision 2030’ in Kohima on August 17. (Morung Photo)
Nagaland Sustainable Development Goals Vision 2030 launched
Our Correspondent
Kohima | August 17
Launching the ‘Nagaland Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Vision 2030’ here on Tuesday, Nagaland’s Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio called upon the people to make this decade a 'Decade of Positive Action.'
Rio called upon everyone to join hands to achieve the SDGs with renewed focus on innovation, cooperation and partnerships.
“Let us make this decade a 'Decade of Positive Action'. Let us work together to bring in long-term prosperity and better quality of life for people in the state, leaving no one behind, in the spirit and saying of the Prime Minister, ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,’” Rio said.
Rio said that the 17 goals and the 169 targets for sustainable development documented in the 'Nagaland SDG Vision 2030' are aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and to ensure that everyone enjoys peace and prosperity.
“In this direction, the Nagaland SDG Vision Document provides us with state specific short, medium and long term targets with measurable indicators and strategies that the state should focus on to meet the aspirations of the people for sustainable livelihoods and living standards,” Rio said.
Rio said that there are major challenges that need to be addressed in order to meet these ambitious targets within the time lines.
North East states lag behind in economic growth
The Chief Minister said that the north eastern states, especially the hill states have lagged behind the rest of the country in terms of economic growth.
One of the reasons for this is the low economic investments. And Nagaland, being a resource constrained state, has hardly any elbow room for the state government to meet the large investments needed for capital and infrastructure development, Rio said.
Further, the rigid implantation norms of most of the development interventions of Centrally Sponsored/Central Schemes coupled with the shorter working seasons due to the monsoons, the typical land ownership system of the state and the comparatively higher cost of transportation etc., pose big challenges on the state in fulfilling the aspirations of the people.
“It is, therefore, very important that the Central Government recognizes the required flexibility in the funding and implementation of schemes for the North East Hill States,” Rio underscored, expressing hope that the Central Government would take note of the strategies and challenges highlighted in the document and suitably customize the programmesof the Centrally Sponsored and Central Schemes to cater to the special needs of the State.
Such actions will positively impact livelihoods and quality of life of the people in the long run, he added.
Nagaland top performing state for Goal 12
Rio expressed happiness that despite some limitations, Nagaland state has done reasonably well in various parameters such as: being listed as the top performing state for Goal 12- Sustainable Consumption and Production and being a front runner for Goal 2- Zero Hunger, Goal 6– Clean Water and Sanitation, Goal 15– Life on Land and others.
Rio was optimistic that the Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will put a dedicated team in place to further guide the state “so that its resources are optimally utilized with the targets in mind.”
“A target-oriented approach will help in reaching the goals. Therefore, a proper monitoring mechanism and a dashboard to view the progress against each of the 169 targets on a regular basis should also be put in place,” he said.
