Focus on projects that benefit the society: Pema Khandu

Guwahati: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu reiterated the staunch commitment of his government to put a halt to all ‘individual’ centric schemes and projects and take up only those that are beneficial to the society as a whole.
Speaking at the 52nd Engineers Day (26th in Arunachal) celebrations, Khandu urged engineers of all work departments not to encourage schemes that are pushed by individuals but only forward those which are on demand by an entire community, village or society.

He said the state government has already decentralized the planning process by giving the responsibility of forwarding schemes and projects to the District Planning Committees based on specific needs at the grass root level. This, he said, will bring in transparency, curb corruption and usher development in real sense.

Chief Minister said, all projects, once started, will be geotagged to be monitored remotely and avoid duplicity. He admitted the hurdles like unavailability of internet services at all places at the beginning but expressed optimism that once implemented there won’t be any unfinished, half-finished, over-the-budget and prolonged projects in the state. Lauding the contribution of engineers in building the state, Khandu urged them to deliver to the optimum and assured the government’s full cooperation.

“You have a government at place with willpower as well as political will, which is ready to back you up when required. You need not fear anybody. Be committed to your responsibilities and do not compromise with quality development of the state,” he beckoned. Khandu appreciated the theme for this year’s celebration – Engineering for Change – which he said is urgently needed for Arunachal Pradesh.

Calling for change in planning, designing and use of technology specific to the geological conditions for creating infrastructure, Khandu however pointed that first the change should come from within. “Yes we need change in knowledge and technology but first we need change in our mindset. Without changing our old mindset and the thought process, nothing will change,” he said. While welcoming new technologies, Khandu advised engineers to also study and learn from traditional methods of constructions that have withstood time and nature. He gave an example of the iron-chain linked suspension bridge at Chaksam near Mogto village over Tawangchu River in Tawang district. “This bridge was built in the 1450s by Lama Chaksam Wangpo and it is fabled that 108 similar bridges were built by him in the entire region. The said bridge is still serving its purpose!” he informed.

The Chief Minister further advocated that creating infrastructure should not be at the cost of environment and cultural identity of the state. He in fact suggested incorporating traditional architectural designs in constructing public buildings and other structures.