Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on February 20 pitched the central government to include Northeast India history and culture in the national school curriculum.
He said that while Arunachal government will localise state-specific curriculum of culture and traditions at primary level and Arunachal history at the middle school level as part of the New Education Policy (NEP), the Centre must include Northeast India history and culture in the national curriculum.
Participating in the 6th Governing Council Meeting of the NITI Aayog, which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually, Khandu justified that with this, apart from awareness of the rich culture and history of the Northeast states at the national level, it will reinforce national integration in the true spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat’.
He said under the present government, all the states of the region have witnessed accelerated development and benefited from welfare schemes.
To push forward the objective of ‘Aatmnirbhar Bharat’, Pema Khandu said the state government is focusing on agriculture and horticulture besides turning the state into a manufacturing hub.
“We have abundant land resource. Therefore, we are already implementing cluster farming and nutritional kitchen garden schemes across the state. The Centre may handhold us in establishing the food processing industry in a big way. We are happy to inform you that we have concentrated on ease of doing business and have in place a policy in this regard,” Pema Khandu said.
The Arunachal Pradesh CM admitted that physical infrastructure like roads has come up in the state like never before.
1047 villages yet to be connected by roads: Pema Khandu
Thanking the Centre for the same, he requested relaxation in criteria set up for implementation of PMGSY for Arunachal Pradesh.
“We still have about 1047 villages yet to be connected by roads as these do not qualify for PMGSY. If the criteria are relaxed a bit, these unconnected villages can be connected in the next few years,” Khandu said.
Lauding the Centre for assuring to provide 4G digital connectivity to about 1683 habitats in the region, Pema Khandu requested the scheme may be implemented in a time-bound manner so that the objective of ‘Digital India‘ is achieved on time.
He also informed that the state government has cancelled almost all the MoUs signed earlier with private parties for the development of hydropower in the state.
Pema Khandu said only central government agencies will be roped in to undertake hydropower development in the state keeping in mind the environmental impacts and people’s will and requested the Centre to support in this regard.
The CM endorsed convergence of central and state government flagship programs and schemes for better and successful implementation.
He also requested the setting up of an all-girls Sainik School and a central medical college in the state.
The virtual meeting was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and top officials.
