The Hindu : Front Page : Rs.10,000-cr. package for Arunachal

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Friday, Feb 01, 2008
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Rs.10,000-cr. package for Arunachal

Sushanta Talukdar

1,840-km highway from Tawang to Mahadevpur planned
Manmohan lays foundation for Dibang power project

Itanagar: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday announced development projects worth about Rs.10,000-crore for Arunachal Pradesh. He also laid the foundation for six of them during his maiden visit to the northeastern State.

The package includes a Rs. 5,500-crore 1,840-km trans-Arunachal Pradesh highway that will stretch from Tawang to Mahadevpur. In three or four years, Itanagar would be connected with a four-lane highway, Dr. Singh said.

He laid the foundation for the 3,000-MW Dibang power project, the country’s biggest hydel project, and the 110-MW Pare power project. He said the Dibang project alone would generate over Rs. 300-crore revenue for the State.

Dr. Singh also laid the foundation for a new Secretariat building in Itanagar, a rail link between Itanagar and Harmuti, and water supply projects for Itanagar and Naharlagun.

The Prime Minister announced a new greenfield airport for the State capital, operationalisation of the airports at Pasighat, Along, Daporijo, Ziro and Tezu and a daily helicopter service between Guwahati and Tawang, for which the Centre would provide a subsidy.

“Arunachal Pradesh is the easternmost State of our country, and the sun kisses the country here first. That is why for the country it is the land of the rising sun,” he said in his half-hour speech before a capacity crowd at the Indira Gandhi Park here.

Dr. Singh said there were four major areas in which the government needed to work to ensure rapid development: connectivity, infrastructure, educational and healthcare facilities, and economic development.

Dr. Singh, who also unveiled a bust of the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, said: “Arunachal Pradesh was a favourite of two of our beloved leaders, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. If Indiraji created Arunachal Pradesh, Rajivji granted Statehood to it.”

Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu requested Dr. Singh to constitute a high-level committee for finding a lasting solution to the Chakma-Hajong refugee problem.

Mr. Khandu said the State was endowed with rich natural resources. But it lacked the financial resources for converting them into goods and services.

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