Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday virtually inaugurated and laid Foundation Stones for a total of 29 Development Projects at the cost of Rs 2,450 crore on Thursday at City Convention, Palace Compound, Imphal East through virtual mode in the august presence of chief minister N Biren Singh.
Addressing the gathering, Amit Shah said that the state government under the able leadership of N Biren Singh is replacing the three I’s - Instability, Insurgency and Inequality, which was prevalent in the state earlier, by Innovation, Infrastructure and Integration.
He promised that Manipur will be a drug free state if the government under N Biren Singh comes back to power in the next term.
He congratulated and lauded the Biren led government for its achievements for overall development of the state and hard works of the chief minister along with his council of ministers in bringing development in every nook and corner of the state during his five-year tenure.
He added that bandh, blockade and violence is significantly decreasing and the state is stepping towards the direction of peace and development.
Recalling the implementation of the Inner Line Permit System (ILP) which was a long cherished dream for the people of the state, he stated that the Central government has been focusing on the promotion and development of the Northeast regions of the country.
He also added that the recent rechristening of ‘Mount Harriet’, a historical tourist spot at Andaman and Nicobar Island to ‘Mount Manipur’ as a tribute to the then Maharajah of Manipur, Kullachandra and other freedom fighters, will help to inform tourist to understand the history of Manipur that has remained unrecognized for the past 75 years. It is very fortunate that the Nation is celebrating 75 years of Independence and Manipur is celebrating 50 years of statehood, he added.
He added that the present government in the state is taking up lots of developmental works and he conveyed the desire of the Prime Minister to continue the same for the welfare of the general population.
Amit Shah inaugurated 15 projects, including three projects under MOVCDNER, 4 Road and Bridge projects under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, 4 Water Supply Projects, 47 projects under Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram, Integrated tourist Destinations at Longmai and Jiribam, 2 Projects under NEC- International Students Hostel at MU and Multi- Purpose Cultural Hall at Longmai, Transit Accommodations at Paomata and Ukhrul, 75 Tube well under PMKSY- HKKP- GW, 5 Animal Husbandry Projects with GoI/NEC funding, Construction of state Hydrological Data Centre, Lamphel, Imphal West District, 2 Projects under Khelo India, RSETI, Kakching, 8 Projects for Health Infrastructure, Construction of Police Memorial at 1st MR and Annexe Court Building in Bishnupur District Court Complex.
He also unveiled14 Foundation Stone for 100 bedded COVID hospital at kakching, Construction of Olympian Park at Sangaithel, Installation of flood lighting at Luwangsangbam Cricket Stadium, District Court Complex, Noney, District Court Complex, Kakching, Rejuvenation of Lamphelpat Water Body to Alleviate Urban Flooding providing sustainable water sources for Imphal City and promoting Eco Tourism, Integrated Sewerage System for Imphal City Phase-II, Augmentation of Luwangpokpa Cricket Stadium, Luwangsangbam, Development of Sports Complex in 7 districts under PMJVK, development of Hunar Hubs in 3 districts under PMJVK, Infrastructure Development for Shirui festival under PMJVK, Bio-remediation of 5 water bodies and improvement of surroundings of 2 waterbodies at Thangapat and Setting up of Manipur Technology Innovation Hub in PPP mode with Kalinga Institute of Technology.
Expressing his immense gratefulness to central government for taking up many developmental projects covering various sectors like connectivity, tourism, water supply, healthcare, sports, education etc. in the State over the past five years, N Biren Singh said that Manipur has also been making all efforts to tackle the Covid pandemic in the past two years. Announcing that a total of 23.22 lakh vaccinations have been done so far, he mentioned that the vaccination for 15-18 years age group has been started and 1,107 children were vaccinated.
Under the vision of Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas, Sab ka Vishwash, Sab ka Prayas, various flagship programmes have been implemented in Manipur towards inclusive development. To help poor families with access to cooking gas and empower women and protect their health, 1.59 lakh LPG connections have been released under Ujjwala Scheme in Manipur. Further, 19,083 free connections have already been given under Ujjwala 2.0 since its launching on August 10, 2021. Under the Ujala Scheme, 4,18,484 LED bulbs have been distributed. 9,016 beneficiaries have been sanctioned loans under PM SVANidhi to street vendors adversely impacted by the pandemic.
He continued that since the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, the coverage of functional household tap connections for rural households in the state has increased from 6 per cent to 605 today. Manipur is targeting full coverage by September, 2022. A total of 3,85,311 eligible beneficiaries have received their Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yajana card. He said that 46,332 beneficiaries have been treated free of cost worth Rs. 56 crores in empanelled hospitals across the country under PMJAY.
In addition, 75,555 beneficiaries not covered under PMJAY have been treated free of cost worth 75 crores in empanelled hospitals under Chief Minister gi Hakshel gi Tengbang, he said. Manipur has also seen significant improvement in its Connectivity infrastructure. Since 2017, National Highway projects worth Rs. 12,616 crore covering 807 kms have been sanctioned in Manipur, he said. To support farmers in procuring inputs to ensure proper crop health and yield, 6,18,668 farmers have been benefited under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, he added.
Union minister of State for External Affairs and Education RK Ranjan; Council of Ministers - Letpao Haokip, Awangbou Newmai, S Rajen Singh, Vungzagin Valte, Th Satyabrata Singh, O Lukhoi Singh; MP Dr Lorho S Pfoze (Lok Sabha), MP Leishemba Sanajaoba (Rajya Sabha), MP MC Mary Kom (Rajya Sabha) and chief secretary Dr Rajesh Kumar were on the dais as presidium members.
MLAs, High Ranking Officials of Civil and Police, Officials of various government departments and invitees were also present at the function.
As a part of the programme, a visual presentation highlighting the achievements of the state government was also screened. (DIPR)
