DyCM urges DCs to ensure sustainability of govt projects

Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein has urged the deputy commissioners of the districts to focus on the factors that will ensure the sustainability of any project developed by the government.

Many good infrastructures have been developed by the government but due to the non-sustainability of the project, they get damage sooner or later, Mein said while addressing the conference of deputy commissioners on sustainable development goals here on Friday.

The deputy chief minister informed that most of the government infrastructures are of North East Frontier Tract (NEFA) days and are in dilapidated conditions which need to be replaced and reconstructed.

He requested the Centre for providing a one-time special fund for the replacement and reconstruction of old infrastructure saying that a proposal in this regard had already been submitted to the Centre by Chief Minister Pema Khandu.

Mein disclosed that the state government under Khandu had taken various reforms including administrative, financial, and transparency, and added that the government is planning to bring in more financial reform in connection with the movement of files for financial concurrence by fast-tracking the process given that all the check-lists provided by the Department of Planning and Finance are fully furnished.

He expressed hope that after the conference, DCs would be more focussed on their monitoring mechanism from the SDG perspective, as they are vital to steer the development process in their respective districts as they understand the unique issues and circumstances of their districts.

The deputy chief minister said that the conference will go a long way in ensuring that the respective DCs take ownership of these goals and play a leading role in improving their district ranking through peer learning and the spirit of competition.

"The institution of the deputy commissioner continues to play a vital role in convergence and monitoring of all developmental activities in the state. The DC's as team leaders should encourage and motivate their officers to ensure that the district targets are aligned with the SDGs. When the global SDGs are localized into district-specific targets, we will be able to achieve our commitments to the international community," Mein said.

He also exuded hope that the conference would be a game-changer for the state's developmental direction from expenditure-oriented to outcome-oriented to meet the goal of 'Antyodaya' - uplifting the weakest section of the society.