Hon’ble Speaker and Hon’ble Members
It gives me pleasure to address the elected representatives of the people of Mizoram at the commencement of the 15th session of the 7th Legislative Assembly of Mizoram. I express my warm greetings and best wishes to this august House and to the people of Mizoram. The state experienced the longest monsoon and one of the most erratic rainfalls on record during last year. I have seen the strength, resilience and commitment of the government to address the needs of the affected people during the hard times. I am happy to present before you an outline of the achievements and visions of the government.
1. My government has taken the bold initiative of implementing the New Economic Development Policy (NEDP) for which a total amount of Rs.1027.00 crore has been invested during 2016-17. The Policy does not comprise of simply distributing fund to all departments. Allocation of fund is based on preparation of viable projects which will strengthen the economy, employ sectoral inter-linkages, and perpetuate a growth-friendly regulatory environment and improve the ease of doing business in the State. Under the NEDP, Entrepreneurship Development Scheme has been implemented since 2016 with the following components - Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme, Master Trainer Development Programme, Skill cum Entrepreneurship Development Programme, Business Plan Contest, Mini Start up Competition, Entrepreneurship Summit etc. The Scheme has been implemented by Mizoram Entrepreneurship Development Monitoring Committee (MEDMOC).
2. We have entered a new urban era, with the announcement of 5 Key Central Sector Mission which counterpart funding of Central Sector Schemes namely Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Housing For All (Urban) and Smart Cities Mission. The Hon’ble President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind during his visit to Aizawl on 29th November, 2017 had inaugurated housing projects under Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP). This housing project comprising of 1,096 dwelling units for families of economically weaker sections, has been completed and is ready for accommodation.
Our effort in sanitation is expected to enable our State to emerge as the ‘Cleanest State in India’ and our cities, towns and villages as the cleanest habitation by 2019. The Asian Development Bank assisted NERCCDIP has been instrumental in taking up critical city infrastructure for Aizawl City. This includes Water Supply, Sewerage and Solid Waste Management. A total project cost of Rs. 698.17 crore is being invested for various infrastructures.
Aizawl Municipal Corporation (AMC) has been taking up its mandate in providing various municipal functions. Construction of buildings within Aizawl has been regulated by the AMC and so far, 6068 permission have been issued from its inception. The Aizawl Municipal Corporation also collected Property Tax in which 80% of the total collection is earmarked for essential public utility.
3. Through vigorous implementation of several centrally sponsored schemes and the state’s flagship programme of NLUP and NEDP there have been notable achievements in the agriculture and allied sectors. NLUP has been a substantial contributor in the decline of jhum area by 31.37% during the last six years. During the year 2017-2018, an amount of Rs.9,855.00 lakh has been allocated to Agriculture department under NEDP for implementing various key growth drivers, and construction of link roads and Agriculture Growth Centre. Under RKVY scheme, a total area of 54.50 Ha. has been created for Wet Rice Cultivation (WRC) during the year and more than 130 Ha. of existing WRCs has been improved. An amount of Rs. 372.24 lakhs allocated under normal State Fund has been effectively utilised for development of agriculture sector and improvement of production technology through research and demonstration. Further, National Innovation on Climatic Resilient Agriculture programme was started at KVK Lunglei and Serchhip to address climatic changes and to assist farmers in coping with the situation. National Mission on Oilseed and Oilpalm (Mini Mission-III) will be implemented at West Lungdar, Reiek and Ailawng Village under Mamit District.
4. My government has a vision to be self-reliant in meat, fish and poultry products. Establishment of goat breeding farm at Thenzawl and INDBRO HATCHERY at Tanhril through Animal Husbandry &Veterinary (AH& Vety) department are significant initiatives taken towards realising this vision. A new programme for production of animal feed ingredients and buy back chain is envisaged by assisting 500 families to grow maize under the NEDP. This will account to production of 10,000MT of Maize to be utilized for animal feed plant. Feed plant at Tanhril will meet 480MT of farmers’ demand per month. Under NLUP, AH &Vety Sector, Mizoram has become a pioneer and a model in artificial insemination of pigs.
5. With a view to provide affordable and accessible health care to all, a number of measures have been taken to improve and expand health care service, by improving and strengthening healthcare facilities and key infrastructures. Important National Programmes such as RCH, EPI, RBSK, NACP, RNTCP, NUHM, NAM, NACP etc. are being implemented in all earnestness. It is a matter of pride and achievement for the state that on an outcome based comprehensive health index prepared for the first time by the NITI Aayog, Mizoram got the top rank among smaller states. As a result, the amount of fund allocated to NHM for Mizoram has increased for the next financial year. The report of Global Adult Tobacco Survey – 2, released early this year has also indicated that the overall prevalence of tobacco use in Mizoram among adults has declined from 67.2% of all adults to 58.7%.
6. There have been remarkable developments in the power sector. Tuirial Hydro Electric Project is expected to be completed within the financial year of 2017-2018. Reliability Test was conducted successfully on Unit I of the project on November 2017 and is expected to put into commercial operation soon. The Government of Mizoram has also signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) for execution of 210 MW Tuivai Hydro Electric Project. During the last three years, the state capital witnessed a rapid increase in demand of power. Extension in the newly constructed 132kV Sub-Station at Zuangtui with 33kV Switchyard with associated 33kV lines is under consideration of the government which will result in reliable and quality power supply in the northern and southern parts of Aizawl city.
7. Implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) is one of the most important programmes undertaken by Public Health Engineering Department. Four districts namely Aizawl, Champhai, Kolasib and Serchhip districts have been declared as ‘Open Defecation Free (ODF)’ Districts while Siaha and Mamit districts are awaiting final verification, and the remaining two districts i.e. Lunglei & Lawngtlai districts are also expected to become ODF by March 2018.
Under National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), PHE Department has targeted 28 habitations during 2017-2018 out of which 6 habitations have been covered so far. The PHED has further provided water connections to 3,495 houses during 2017-18 and a number of water supply schemes were implemented throughout the state with funds received under NEC, NLCPR and NABARD
8. My government is committed to ensure timely procurement, safe storage and equitable distribution of foodgrains to the people throughout the year. After implementation of NFSA since 1.3.2016, the quantity of rice received from Govt. of India as Normal Allocation increased from 5221 MT to 5479.83 MT on monthly basis while the cost of procurement of rice decreased from Rs. 3.46 crore to Rs. 2.51 crore on monthly basis. This implies that government fund amounting to Rs. 94.21 lakh is saved per month after NFSA. It may be mentioned that state government fund to the tune of Rs. 10.12 crore was saved by procurement of rice under Open Market Sale Scheme (D) during the current financial year. During 2017-2018, 17 new go-downs have been constructed with a total cost of Rs 9.60 crores and will be commissioned soon. With a loan of Rs.32.68 crores from NABARD, another 27 new go-downs will be constructed in various places of the state. FCS&CA Department is making necessary arrangement for monsoon stock of rice in selected 47 (forty seven) Supply Centres to feed far-flung villages having very poor accessibility by road during rainy season.
9. Continuous measures are taken for verification and quality control of essential goods and commodities. Joint task force was conducted with the Mizoram Tobacco Control Society, Mizoram Police (CID), Taxation Department against contraband Cigarettes in the State. And Legal Metrology Dept. checked the weights of LPG Cylinders, Electrical goods, Motor parts etc. During 2017- 2018 Rs. 1.60 crore is received from Central Govt. for construction of 1(one) Secondary Standard Laboratory at Aizawl and 5(five) Working Standard Laboratory at Aizawl, Kolasib, Hnahthial, Tlabung and Chawngte under Strengthening of Legal Metrology infrastructure of States and UTs.
10. My government is aware of the need to improve the quality of education at all levels of learning. In order to bridge the huge infrastructure gap under School Education Department, a number of projects have been approved. Under Special Plan Assistance and Special Central Assistance, construction of Educational Complex at Serchhip was completed with a project cost of Rs. 122.20 lakhs. Construction of Educational Guest House-cum-Training Centre at Lunglei has been completed while Construction of Education Centre at Treasury Square, Aizawl is expected to be completed within 2018. Mid Day Meal has been provided to 1,39,259 students belonging to 1,455 Primary Schools & Upper Primary Schools.
The Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx) programme, an initiative by School Education Department is intended to provide quality hands-on learning experiences to students of Class VIII, IX and XI on three domain areas – Science, Mathematics and English. For the initial year, 30 Govt. High Schools /Govt. Aided Schools have been selected for CLIx programme. Selected schools are provided with servers with ICT labs being made functional for implementation of CLIx programme. For the next phase, 70 secondary schools are being selected and will soon be rolled out.
11. The Mizoram State Higher Education Council Bill 2017 was passed by the State Legislature on 15th November, 2017. Mizoram has been regarded nationwide as the best performing state of RUSA in N.E. India and one of the best performers in all India. Under this scheme new construction of 21 Colleges, Auditorium & Classrooms, Seminar Hall at Hrangbana College and Laboratory building at Zirtiri Res. Science College have been completed. The construction of new Polytechnics at Champhai, Kolasib and Mamit are physically completed. New Polytechnics at Lawngtlai, Saiha and Serchhip are under construction. The construction of buildings for Mizoram Engineering College at Pukpui, Lunglei commencing from May 2016 is expected for completion by end of March, 2018.
12. The Government of Mizoram has introduced English as a medium of instruction from Class VI onwards from the academic session of 2017-18. For this, SCERT has introduced the adapted NCERT textbook in all middle schools (Class VI – VIII). NCTE (National Council of Teacher Education) has given approval to District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) at Aizawl and Lunglei to run B.Ed course which is urgently needed for preparing more trained secondary teachers. With this approval, the Mizoram University has given provisional affiliation to start the course from academic session of 2018 -2019.
The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) has given its approval for conducting regular classes in B.Ed Special Education in the field of Visual Impairment (VI) and Hearing Impairment (HI) at the SCERT. This is the first of its kind in the North East Region and Mizoram is the only state which has been given permission to run a degree programme in Special Education by the RCI.
13. In its effort to mitigate and combat the rising impact of climate change, the Environment, Forests & Climate Change Department has submitted a concept note covering various Departments to Green Climate Fund, for a major project to be implemented in six (6) districts within the state. Intensive efforts are being made through various National programmes and Green Mizoram Programme to increase forest cover and to protect forest reserved areas, wildlife and biodiversity. Mizoram has fared well in creating awareness and adopting effective fire prevention measures. The Department has taken initiatives for constituting 10 nos. of Notified Protected Areas with two major Schemes - CSS –Project Tiger and CSS –Integrated Development of Wildlife habitat (IDWH) being currently implemented in these Protected Areas. During 2017-2018, an amount of Rs.6.1 crore received from Ad-hoc CAMPA by the state is being utilized for providing drinking water facility to animals in Protected Areas, planting fruit bearing trees for birds and wild animals, strengthening of protection measures, afforestation and development and management of forest.
14. Road infrastructure is an important component of public assets and stimulates economic development. During 2017-2018, formation cutting works amounting to Rs. 103.25 Crores with a total road length of 62.63 Kms and blacktopping of total length of 118.72 Kms with an estimated cost of Rs. 71.96 crores was completed. Currently, there are 42 roads under construction with a total length of 580.98 Kms. There are two permanent bridges which have been completed i.e PSC bridge over Tlawng River at Bairabi to Zamuang road and HPSC bridge over Tut River at NH-44 (A). 16 permanent bridges amounting to Rs. 103.18 crores is in progress under Central Road Fund (CRF), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and National Highway (NH) schemes.
During 2017-2018, construction of 82 buildings are being taken up with an estimated cost of Rs.403.82 crore out of which 28 buildings have been completed and 54 buildings are in progress. Some of the completed buildings are - Heritage Building at Raj Bhawan, MCON Hostel at Falkawn Block-I & Block-II, Directorate of Hospital & Medical Education Building, Directorate of Fisheries Building, Directorate of Taxation Building Phase-I and Directorate of Irrigation & Water Resources Building at New Secretariat Complex, Aizawl.
PWD is maintaining 11 National Highways with a total length of 1465.938 Kms. During 2017-2018, blacktopping of 3 National Highways costing Rs. 62.54 Crores with a total length of 157.80 Kms have been completed. Presently, there are 22 on-going projects with total length of 827.20 Kms in which some of the major projects are Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project, re-alignment and geometric improvement of NH-44A and upgradation of Serkhan - Bagha road.
World Bank Projects aimed to upgrade the existing single lane to 2-lane NH standard are in progress: these include the improvement and upgradation of Chhumkhum – Chawngte road, Champhai - Zokhawthar road, and Tlabung – Kawrpuichhuah road.
15. Maintenance of law and order remains a top priority of my government. During the year 2017-2018 the following contraband goods were seized : 23 illegal arms, 289 explosives, Rs. 70.43 lakhs worth of Fake India Current Notes (FICN), 10.554 kgs of Heroin No 4 worth Rs. 3799.44 lakhs, 1330 kgs of Pseudo Ephedrine worth Rs.552.5 lakhs, 5800 tabs of Meth-Amphetamine worth Rs.5.80 lakhs, 482.73 kgs of Ganja worth Rs. 241.36 lakhs, 739 tabs of Alprozolam worth Rs. 73.9 lakhs, Morphine worth Rs. 4,000, 4 kgs of Ketamine worth Rs. 8,400 and 12 kgs of Ephedrine worth Rs.22.8 lakhs.
I would like to congratulate Mizoram Forensic Science Laboratory for their achievement of winning the 2nd Best Prize on ‘Award of Excellence in the field of Fingerprint Science’ during the ‘XVIII All India Conference of Directors of Fingerprint Bureaux’ organized by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Government of India held during March, 2017.
16. Various measures are taken for providing welfare programmes and services to the weaker and vulnerable sections of the society. The Draft Mizoram Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules has been vetted by Law & Judicial Department, and is now lying for Cabinet approval. All-out efforts are taken for combating menace of drugs, alcoholism, trafficking of women and children, juvenile delinquency and rehabilitations as well as restoration programmes through network of residential homes and non-institutional services in partnership with civil society. The Mizoram Drugs (Demand Reduction) Rules has been framed and passed by the Mizoram Legislative Assembly. Reformation of De-addiction and Rehabilitation Homes run by various NGOs are also underway. Out of 13 ST Girls Hostel sanctioned by the Central government, 12 have been completed. Construction of Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) at Siaha, Lawngtlai, Chawngte and Ngopa is in progress . Construction of Observation Home / Special Home Complex at Pukpui, Lunglei with fund from NEC and State Government is being started. Construction of OSC at Durtlang, Aizawl is now completed and functional.
17. The Mizoram Liquor (Control & Prohibition) Act, 2014 has been implemented since 15th January, 2015. Under the MLPC Rules, 2014 3(three) Bonded Warehouse licences were issued and 56 (fixty six) Vendor Licences (Retail Shop) were issued up to 31.1.2018. Revenue amounting to Rs. 53,34,56,586/- (Rupees fifty three crore thirty four lakh fifty six thousand five hundred eighty six) only had been collected during the current financial year 2017 - 2018 upto 31st January, 2018.
18. The Administrative Training Institute, the premiere Institute of the State Govt. has conducted various In-service training, Foundation Courses for Group ‘A’ Direct Recruits, Refresher Course for officers, as well as Capacity Building of elected representative of the people, NGOs and Stakeholders. During 2017 – 2018, 52(fifty two) different training courses have been conducted for Govt. employees and also NGOs/Stakeholder. Training of Departmental Appellate Authorities on the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 has also been conducted at Administrative Training Institute, Mizoram during 2017 – 2018. Also a 3-day Training Programme on Project Formulation & Management was conducted in collaboration with IIM, Bangalore for Senior Officers of Govt. of Mizoram.
19. There cannot be overall development of the state without the inclusion of the Sixth Schedule areas. Rubber based settlement project for strategic development initiatives has been implemented in Lai Autonomous District Council since 2017 as one of the alternative to jhumming for sustained occupation and rehabilitation of displaced people. This project was funded under NEC which is envisaged to cover 505 nos. of families living in the village of Ngengpuikai, Diltlang ‘S’, Chawngtelui, Mualbu, Chawngte P, Tuikhurlui, Sumsilui and Sakeilui is to be completed within 3 years.
To strengthen education infrastructure in the ADCs, 49 nos. of school buildings are to be constructed with a total estimate cost of Rs. 1109.85/- lakh under NLCPR. Out of this, 20 nos. of school building have already been completed from funds received so far and the rest are envisaged to be completed in the near future.
Efforts are being made for better outreach of medical services under the National Health Mission (NHM), Electrification of Villages under the ‘SUBHAGYA’ scheme and steps are under way to introduce better digital connectivity for the District Council areas.
Apart from infrastructural development, remedial measures for improvement of the administrative and financial management of the Autonomous District Councils has also been taken up by the Government
20. Information & Public Relations Department continues to perform its role effectively in disseminating information through the print and electronic media and runs its own weekly TV programme “Mizoram Hmasawnna Lamtluang” through DDK, Aizawl and local TV network. Under NEDP, a special tour programme is being conducted since November 2017 for members of senior citizens (MUP) covering all 40 MLA constituencies. Since November 2017, the Department has also successfully conducted twelve (12) number of NEDP Press Study Tour for members of the Press to visit important places within and outside Mizoram.
21. Sainik School Chhingchhip, the 27th Sainik School was inaugurated on 17th May, 2017. Presently, the first batch consisting of 60 students were admitted in Class VI for 2017-2018 school session. To be the first of its kind in the country, girl cadets are expected to be admitted in the next session of 2018-2019.
22. Under Local Administration Department, Rs. 680.10 lakh Non-Salary/ Minor works was transferred to the Account of Village Councils from 1st Mizoram Finance Commission Grants, which will be utilized for creating durable assets for public use and for augmenting their resources. NEDP Core Committee has also allocated Rs. 6560.00 lakhs for improvement of infrastructure in villages across the State.
23. Construction work for High Court building at New Secretariat Complex with an estimated cost of Rs. 4624.12 lakhs approved by the Ministry of DoNER under NLCPR has been initiated. Action for establishment of Lokayukta is being taken up actively. Temporary office accommodation is being finalized while site for permanent office building is already allotted by GAD New Secretariat Complex, Khatla. Proposal for filling up of various posts for the office of Lokayukta is being moved for approval of higher authority and selection for Chairman and members will be finalized soon. To improve and strengthen Legal Metrology, Rs. 1.60 crore was received from Central Govt. for construction of 1(one) Secondary Standard Laboratory at Aizawl and 5(five) Working Standard Laboratory at Aizawl, Kolasib, Hnahthial, Tlabung and Chawngte.
24. The efforts made by the Sports and Youth Services Department as well the Mizoram State Sports Council to groom and nurture budding talents has paid dividends. In the international arena, a total of 24 Gold, 13 Silver and 8 Bronze medals; 40 Gold, 28 Silver and 46 Bronze medals in the national level events and 16 Gold, 13 Silver and 30 Bronze medals in regional events were won by athletes from Mizoram up till 16th February, 2018.
Multipurpose Indoor Hall Sazaikawn, Lunglei, funded with Rs. 600.00 lakh under USIS was inaugurated on 09.02.2018, and Multi Sports Centre for Northern Region at Darlawn costing Rs.359.17 lakh has been completed and will be inaugurated soon. Other ongoing projects include - Sports Infrastructure Development of Hachhek Area; Zauva Sailo Memorial Tennis Centre, Lunglei; Indoor Stadium at Aizawl Electric Veng and Multipurpose Sports Complex at Aizawl West Joint YMA Field Vaivakawn, Aizawl. State Sports Academy, Zobawk at an estimated cost of Rs. 17.51 crore is on the verge of completion.
25. With a view to strengthen cooperative movement in the state, the Mizoram Cooperative Societies Act, 2006 is put up for amendment in the Mizoram Legislative Assembly. Implementation of ICDP Programme in 5 (five) Districts of Mizoram with the approved sanctioned cost of Rs. 4,494.452 lakhs to be implemented within 4 (four) years is in progress. My government ensures availibility and sufficient supply of POL to meet growing demands and equitable distribution of cooking gas in 6 districts of Mizoram through Mizoram State Cooperative Marketing and Consumers Federation Ltd. (MIZOFED). The Mizoram Cooperative Apex Bank Ltd (MCAB) has opened two new branches during this period at Khawzawl and Zobawk to expand business outreach and provide banking access to more people.
26. Production of Broom under Soil& Water Conservation Sector, has gone up by almost 220 times since implementation of the NLUP. Under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), production enhancement and protection works including water harvesting, terracing, series of check dams, conservation water harvesting tank, log wood bunding, contour bunding and Spur for WRC are being implemented. Land Protection scheme has been implemented for sustained production, protection of cropped lands and conservation of soil & water covering 191.29 Ha.
27. Goods & Services Tax have been rolled out with effect from 1st July, 2017 throughout the country. Taxation Department has established GST Facilitation cum Helpdesk to assist dealers with matters relating to GST registration, migration, filing of returns, etc. Various awareness campaigns on GST have also been conducted for the benefit of taxpayers as well as general public.
The revenue collected for the financial year 2016 – 2017 was Rs 31,465.01 lakhs and for 2017 – 2018 (upto January, 2018) is Rs 27,176.91 lakh. The Office of the Commissionerate of State Tax have been shifted from J.L Building, Zodin Square to the newly constructed Commissionerate of State Tax building at the New Secretariat Complex, Khatla with the completion of Phase-I of this construction project. Phase-II Construction is under way and is expected to be completed in due course.
28. Mizoram is highly vulnerable to earthquakes and landslides. Trainings for Disaster Response on various courses were conducted at CTI, Sesawng. As many as 1,148 SDRF personnel from Mizoram Police and IR forces, Mizoram Home Guards & Civil Defense Department, Volunteers from YMA, Schools and Adventure Club have been given training. UNISDR-International Day for Disaster Reduction was observed on 13th October, 2017 and as a part of Disaster Reduction Day- Emergency Drills & Mock Exercises was conducted at 5 Districts namely Aizawl, Siaha, Champhai, Lawngtlai and Mamit.
29. Till October 2017, MzSRLM (Mizoram State Rural Livelihood Mission) has entered into 190 villages covering 234 village Councils. In these villages, a total of 28,728 households have been mobilized into 3,087 Self Help Groups. Under DDU-GKY ( Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana) which is the Flagship Programme of Ministry of Rural Development, 4,668 poor rural youths will be given skill training during the project period of 2016-2019. Apollo Medskill Ltd. and eCeltic Solution Pvt. Ltd were selected as PIA (Programme Implementing Agencies) to train these rural youths and Memorandum of Understanding was signed with these PIA’s on 9th February, 2018. Under NEDP, Chief Minister’s Rural Housing Scheme is being implemented with Rs.50,000 given to each beneficiary for augmentation and improvement of dwelling houses in rural areas. Under Integrated Water Shed Management Programme (IWMP), construction of 1370 water harvesting structure is being carried out with 37 structures under renovation.
Other notable works undertaken by Rural Development Department includes construction of Mini Sports Complex at Khawbung, East Lungdar and Aibawk, construction of Multi Shopping Complex at Saitual and flood control and irrigation of potential areas at Ngopa.
30. My government is committed to preserve and promote Mizo tradition, values and cultural heritage. Chapchar Kut festival was successfully celebrated during 1st & 2nd March. Mizoram State Archives have digitized more than one lakh number of important documents pertaining to records of Mizoram State for future reference and record. For development of Mizo literature, Mizoram Publication Board has been providing fund for needy authors in subsidised rate of 75:25. This scheme enormously increases the number of book published in local dialects among the various tribes of the state. To avoid misuse and desecration of Mizopuan (traditional cloth) viz. Puanchei, Pawndum, Ngotekherh, Hmaram & Tawlhlohpuan, geographical indication/patenting of the said cloths has been taken up for legal protection and preservation.
31. With a view to promote tourism and put Mizoram on international tourist map, the department of Tourism is currently implementing two projects funded by the Ministry of Tourism i.e. Integrated Development of New Eco-Tourism Destination under Swadesh Dharshan-North East Circuit at Thenzawl, South Zote as well as Reiek and Development of Eco-Adventure Circuit under Eco Circuit Theme of Swadesh Dharshan. Convention Centre at Berawtlang Tourist Complex has been inaugurated on 27th September, 2017
The Department has also undertaken development of homestay in rural areas for promotion of rural tourism. It is being implemented in Champhai District (6 villages) while plans to extend the homestay scheme to other districts of Mizoram is underway. Construction of State Institute of Hotel Management at Bung Bangla, Aizawl has been completed and will be operational as soon as post creations for faculty are completed.
32. Transport Department registered 31,083 motor vehicles through VAHAN (National Register e-services) till 13th February, 2018. As a result of enormous increase in vehicle population, the duties and responsibilities of MV Wing have increased. To cope with future expansions, a new DTO’s office named as Aizawl District (Rural) was opened on 29th August, 2017.
33. Integrated Sericulture Development Project, Intensive Bivoltine Sericulture Development Project and Muga Silk Development Project under North Eastern Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS) have been taken up while DPR for Integrated Eri Silk Development Project is being prepared. As a result of NLUP Mizoram has achieved self-sufficiency in production of all the varieties of seeds by 2015-16, due to provision of infrastructure facilities like rearing house, green house and others. As a result, area expansion under Mulberry plantation and production of cocoon has increased by 41%.
34. With a vision of e-Development of Mizoram as the engine for transformation of Government and empowerment of Society, core infrastructure such as State Data Center, State Wide Area Network, and State Service Delivery Gateway are implemented under the project of Digital India. Department of ICT has initiated the e-Office implementation in Government of Mizoram. e-Office aims at significantly improving the operational efficiency of the Government by transitioning to a “Less Paper Office”. Digital Classroom has been implemented in 20 schools of Mizoram. Apart from this, 36 schools were also provided with Computer sets to aid teachers and student in the field of Information Technology.
The department has developed Online Bill payment for Water and Electricity, Inventory Management System (IMS) for Secretariat Administrative Department (SAD), Content Management Software for Government of Mizoram, Property Return Online System (PROS) for the Vigilance Department, ENDNet for Excise & Narcotics Department, Total Information on Schools and Teacher for Education Department and Zonal Tank Water Level Monitoring System for PHE Department.
35. Skill development remains a priority to the Government. The Mizoram State Skill Policy for Development & Entrepreneurship has been drafted and shall be notified shortly. Project for training of 36,671 youths under PMKVY (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana) State Engagement component during 2017-2020 is approved with financial target of Rs.56.46 Crores. 2 New ITIs at Champhai and Serchhip are under construction and one at Kolasib is to be started soon. The existing infrastructure of ITIs are being upgraded where 554 Nos.students are being trained. Coaching programmes for examinations by the UPSC and SSC have been conducted where 50 Nos. and 200 Nos. of youths have been respectively enrolled.
36. The NLUP Project, originally designed for 5 years, continues till today. In addition to Central funds, the State Government has already allotted more than Rs 140 crore for continuation of NLUP under NEDP-NLUP Convergence Scheme with more emphasis on agriculture link road. Under Convergence of NLUP-NEDP, a total number of 16000 NLUP beneficiaries are being given assistance @ Rs 1 lakh per beneficiary, in addition to 1500 beneficiaries covered during 2016-17 under various sectors of the NLUP Line Departments.
The 3-year period for the Joint UN Initiative on ‘Eco-system Based Livelihood Project’ in Mizoram has been successfully completed in December 2017. As a result of this initiative, Mizoram has been among the five states selected for implementation of UN Global Environment Facility (GEF) Project. Also the formalities for implementation of the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) Project involving US $ 35.75 million have been completed. Implementation will start in 2018.
37. During 2017-18, Baseline Survey of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was implemented under New Economic Development Policy (NEDP). Under this survey, information on various socio-economic aspects at the village level will be collected. It also aims at defining and incorporating these data in a database which will give access to a range of information that can be used for planning and further development at the village/block/district level. The state is making commendable progress in various sectors. The GSDP for the year 2015-16 is estimated Rs.12487.73 crore. The per capita Net State Domestic Product for the year 2015-16 is Rs.114524. The percentage growth rate observed during 2015-16 is 14.53.
While we are witnessing positive signs indicative of growth and progress it is imperative to sustain this development with strong determination and tireless efforts. Connectivity in all dimensions continues to be our primary goal. I urge all the elected people’s representatives to discharge their solemn responsibilities in a spirit of mutual cooperation so that our growth and development is inclusive of all sections of people. I would like to remind this august gathering about our responsibility and commitment to the electorate and make all efforts to observe financial propriety, transparency and accountability to the public. I convey my best wishes to you and wish you fruitful deliberations.
JAI HIND
