Photo Courtesy: nenow
Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu turned on 42 newly finished projects in Pasighat on Tuesday. The mission aims to modernize the state's oldest town. Only one site, a Sewage Treatment Plant, remains under construction. Key upgrades include the Siang Riverfront Development, a Smart Guest House, an E-Library, and the Integrated Command and Control Centre.
Pasighat landed its smart city status in June 2017. Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the national mission back in 2015. Pasighat and Itanagar are the only two smart cities in the Northeast. The Pasighat Smart City Development Corporation Ltd oversaw the build. Twenty-two projects now sit with the Pasighat Municipal Council for daily upkeep.
Khandu also opened the Mebo Entry Gate. He told locals to take ownership of the new assets. "Government infrastructure is created for the public. It is public property, and maintaining it is also the responsibility of the public," he said. He pointed to Tawang as a model for community care.
The price tag hit roughly 545 crore rupees. The Centre covered 490 crore, while the state added 51.77 crore. Another 3.94 crore came through scheme convergence. Khandu wants officials to combine programs for bigger returns. "Convergence should not be one plus one equals two; it should be one plus one equals eleven," he added.
Growth must create jobs. Khandu urged leaders to push mobile restaurants and tourism to occupy the youth. He linked the local success to the national goal of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. The state plans to refine its long-term development vision through more talks with stakeholders.
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