CM launches Nagaland SDG Vision 2030

Correspondent KOHIMA, AUG 18 (NPN) : State chief minister Neiphiu Rio warned the people of the State that without hard work, poverty would continue to singe the State.

Speaking at the launch of “Nagaland SDG Vision 2030” and “District SDG Localisation & Integration Manual” during the State-level Workshop on SDG India Index 2020-21and Multidimensional Poverty Index at Capital Convention Centre here on Friday, Rio observed that too many programmes were being carried out without proper knowledge, because of which many got wasted.

He remarked that North-eastern States, especially the hill States, lagged behind rest of the country in terms of economic growth due to low investments, adding that there was hardly any elbow room for the State government to meet the large investments needed for capital and infrastructure development in Nagaland.

Rio said rigid implementation norms of most development programmes, coupled with shorter working season due to the monsoons, the State’s typical land ownership system and comparatively higher cost of transportation posedhuge challenges to the State in fulfilling the people’s aspirations.

Therefore, he stressed that it was important that the Central government showed some flexibility in funding and implementingschemes in the North-easternhill States. He hoped that the Centre would take note of the challenges highlighted in the document and suitably customise programmes to cater to the special needs of the States.

Such change in strategy would positively impact livelihoods and quality of life of the people in the long run, he added.

The chief minister expressed joy that despite so many limitations Nagaland hadperformed reasonably well in various parameters like being listed as the Top Performing State for Goal 12- Sustainable Consumption and Production and becoming a frontrunner for Goal 2- Zero Hunger, Goal 6– Clean Water and Sanitation, Goal 15– Life on Land and others.

He admitted that there were major challenges that needed to be addressed to meet the ambitious targets within the timelines highlighted in the document and urged the team from Delhi to reflect on the challenges and assist the State government in addressing them.

He urged everyone to join hands to achieve the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) with renewed focus on innovation, cooperation and partnerships and make this decade a “decade of positive action”, work together to bring long-term prosperity and better quality of life for peoplein the spirit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s“Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”.

Launching the District SDG Localisation & Integration Manual, planning &coordination, land revenue and parliamentary affairs minister Neiba Kronu said to ensure that SDGs left no one behind, which was one of the main objectives, it was essential to carry out SDG localisation process across all districts and at grassroot levels.

He stressed sensitisation of district administration and district level departments on SDGs, pointing out that it was also important to share a structure on how they could work towards contributing to the goals.

The minister said the manual should be used as a key tool for carrying out localisation process in a structured and planned manner as the manual provided fundamental knowledge and knowhow for localising SDGs. He hoped that it would serve as a useful guide during the process of planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of SDGs at the local level.

He said Nagaland’s overall score was 61 as compared to the national average of 66 as per the SDG India Index 2020-21.

Mentioning that the corresponding figure of the State was 57 2019 (national average 60), he claimed that the State performed well in SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), 7 (Clean and Affordable Energy), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 13 (Climate Action) and 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

He acknowledged that as per the Index scoring, there was still scope for improvement for SDGs 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), 10 (Reduced inequalities) and 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), assuring that more discussions would be held on evaluating Nagaland’s performance in SDG India Index 2020-21 and areas of improvement during the workshop.

In her address, NITI Aayog adviser (SDGs) Sanyukta Samaddar said the country would be able to achieve SDGs only if States steered the entire process and took them to the districts, blocks and village levels, adding that that North-easternregion could play a major role in this.

She said Nagaland fared well in clean water and sanitation, poverty eradication, clean energy, sustainable consumption and production, peace justice and strong institutions and hoped that the State’s performance would improve on the ground in the coming years.

On funding, Samaddar said DoNER ministry and NITI Aayog have come up with a collaborative project in developing SDG index for 120 districts in eight North-eastern States that would be launched on August 25.

She mentioned that the index would be used by the DoNER ministry as a tool for fund allocation for focusing on critical areas and gaps brought by the evidence of the index.

Among the districts in Nagaland, the NITI Aayog adviser said Kohima was the best performing district, while Kiphire was at the bottom.

She urged the State government to make use of the new multidimensional poverty index prepared by NITI Aayog, which she said would help with policy planning and targeted intervention.

Earlier, chief secretary J Alam delivered a welcome address.

Minister G Kaito Aye, advisers Mmhonlumo Kikon and Mhathung Yanthan, UNDP resident representativeand many senior State government officials attended the programme.

Source: http://www.nagalandpost.com/cm-launches-nagaland-sdg-vision-2030/238436.html