Bishweswar Tudu lauds smooth progress of central schemes in Arunachal Pradesh

Itanagar: Union Minister Bishweswar Tudu on Wednesday expressed satisfaction over the progress of various Centrally sponsored schemes in Arunachal Pradesh and said that there will be no dearth of funds to the border state from the Centre.

The minister arrived here on Tuesday on his maiden two-day visit to the northeastern state to review all undergoing central projects.

"I appreciate the team effort of the Arunachal Pradesh government for smooth progress of all Centrally sponsored schemes most of which are over fifty per cent completed," the Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Tribal Affairs told reporters here.

The minister admitted that there are challenges in certain areas of the state for implementation of projects as per Central guidelines due to harsh terrain and other factors, for which, he would apprise Prime Minister Narendra Modi so that certain criteria could be relaxed.

He also assured the state government to resolve a few schemes under Jal Shakti and Tribal Affairs ministry in the state which, are pending due to certain official procedures.

Tudu advocated for cooperation between the Central and state government officials, along with a positive approach, to ensure that the benefits of schemes are percolated down to the targeted beneficiaries.

On the difficulties and challenges faced during the implementation of central schemes at the ground level, the minister said that he had asked the state officials to come to New Delhi and meet the respective ministries to sort out the issue.

"Our efforts will be to develop Arunachal Pradesh by overcoming all challenges as the state is strategic as it shares border with three countries," the minister said, and added that it is the responsibility of the Centre to ensure that the state gets the required push to develop at par with other states.

Referring to the huge potential of the state in various sectors, Tudu asserted that the double engine government, both at the Centre and the state, would leave no stone unturned to develop the land-locked state.

Expressing satisfaction on the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in the state, the minister informed that almost 77 per cent work has been completed and the state would complete its target to provide drinking water to all its citizens much ahead of the national target of 2024.

Responding to queries regarding delay in releasing scholarship to tribal students, the minister said that due to delay in submission of data by the state government, disbursement process got delayed.

He, however, assured to streamline the process.

Speaking on the Van Dhan Vikas Yojana and its implementation in the state, the union minister suggested that the rich tribal handicrafts of the state could be promoted through Van Dhan Vikash Kendra under Van Dhan programme spearheaded by TRIFED, in the country.

The Van Dhan Yojana, a component of the 'Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Development of value chain for MFP' was launched on April 14, 2018.

Implemented by TRIFED as the nodal agency at the national level, the Van Dhan start up is a well thought master plan for the socio-economic development of the tribal population of the country.

It is an initiative targeting livelihood generation for tribal people and transforming them into entrepreneurs.