New Delhi, August 8 (MExN): Issues of digital agriculture, implementation of National Education Policy (NEP), Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), Greenfield Airport, Foothill Road, were some of the pertinent issues Nagaland Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio presented at the Seventh Meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the meeting with Lieutenant Governors and Chief Ministers of various states in New Delhi on August 7.
Seeks sufficient time for farmers’ database
Majority of the State’s population is engaged in the agriculture and allied sector with traditional jhum still being a major mode of cultivation, Rio said. But while jhum was ecologically sustainable, adapted diverse cropping patterns based on villagers’ specific needs and continues to be organic, it was disrupted due to increasing pressure of population, he added.
Accordingly, he informed that interventions of the Government of Nagaland (GoN) in the recent past have been instrumental in enabling farmers’ diversification into agro-forestry and plantation crops as well as GI tagging of some crops.
He also informed that the GoN has conceptualised a model of Naga Integrated Settled Farming (N-isF), converging Agri & Allied Departments’ activities in a single cluster with the availability and creation of water bodies along with basic post-harvest infrastructure facilities.
Implemented as a pilot project at Boke-Botsa during 2020-21 and we are seeking to replicate this model across the State, he said.
This would further wean away farmers from jhum cultivation while retaining the organic, crop-diverse and ecologically sustainable features, Rio noted asking for the Government of India (GoI) to take up the expansion under the PM-DeVINE scheme.
Apart from increasing area under production he noted that production and value chain development are crucial and suggested for further strengthening the Central Institute of Horticulture, Medziphema to provide such support.
Regarding Digital Agriculture, which among others, requires the State to have a Farmers’ database with dynamic linking to land records, Geo referencing and GIS Based Real Time Crop Survey to be completed by March 31, 2023, Rio informed that the GoN has already constituted the ‘State Level Steering Committee’ headed by the Chief Secretary and ‘Implementing Committee.’
However, he highlighted that landholding system of Nagaland is “very unique, with land owned privately” and there were no land records except in the Dimapur district and some administrative headquarters, and requested the GoI to extend sufficient time.
Salary burden in school education
Providing quality educational opportunities to all students including those in the remotest part of the remains the State’s motto and endeavour, Rio maintained, and said that the core vision of NEP has been embraced to achieve the objective.
Among others, the World Bank’s Nagaland Education Project-The Lighthouse (NECTAR), Vocational Education; Nagaland Education Management & Information System (NEMIS); rationalisation of teachers were highlighted.
Continuous efforts are also being made to improve teacher’s capacity and performance via Digital Teacher’s Diary and Development of training modules for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of School Heads, he said. The completion of National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) training was also highlighted.
Through such initiatives, the State tried to lay a strong foundation for an effective, outcome-oriented and sustainable school education system, Rio said.
However, he noted that payment of salaries of teachers appointed under erstwhile SSA and RMSA, before subsumption to Samagra Shiksha had created huge financial burden.
There was an outgo of Rs 186.77 crore in the last fiscal and there is extra burden of around Rs 75 crore for the salaries of 1379 Hindi teachers appointed under Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) during 2012-17, he said.
In this regard, he requested for special provision to meet these expenditures.
On higher education, he highlighted that the Nagaland is already committed to implementing various activities in the three broad areas of Access, Quality and Future Readiness and through the State Level Quality Assurance Cell (SLQAC), Department of Higher Education, Nagaland has successfully accredited 92% of the Government Colleges.
2 new colleges, IISER & medical institutes
To ensure further equitable access to quality education for the Socio-economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs), 2 New Model Degree Colleges are being opened at Wakching and Mangkolemba from the next academic session, he said.
He also requested assistance for upgrading the Atmospheric Science Research Centre at Kohima Science College to a full-fledged Multi-Disciplinary Regional Research Centre, including the infrastructure for forecasting natural disasters in Eastern India.
To revive State’s rich indigenous culture and traditional knowledge system and incorporate the same in higher education, Rio further sought intervention of the GoI to establish a “Traditional Knowledge Research Centre.”
Meanwhile citing the Union Budget Speech of 2015-16, during which the then Finance Minister Late Arun Jaitley had announced the establishment of IISER (Indian Institute of Science Education & Research) in Nagaland and Odisha, Rio said that it never fructified for the former, while it is already functioning the latter.
Rather, the Ministry of Education advised GoN to make a request for establishment of School of Planning and Architecture, but neither was sanctioned, he said.
Accordingly, informing that already acquired 200 acres for establishing IISER in Dimapur, Rio said that its establishment needs urgent consideration.
On medical college in Kohima, the CM said that State has taken steps to ensure that it starts from the next academic session 2023-24 and informed on the recruitment of Director, creation of 60 faculty and other posts as well as an autonomous Society.
However, to ensure sustainable running of the college as well as meet the deficit of central institutes in the State, he further reiterated that the medical college be taken over and run as a “Central Institute or as Regional AIIMS.”
Regarding the second medical college in Mon, Rio said that State is interested in running the college under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode and has initiated exploratory meetings with various agencies and ask for NITI Aayog’s assistance in identifying a private sector partner.
Needed time for property tax
Meanwhile, the CM informed that the State has tried to resolve the issue of 33% women reservation in municipalities after a series of meetings with civil society organisations and tribal bodies, and municipal elections are scheduled for next year.
He also noted that measures have been taken to enhance revenue sources of the ULBs including rationalising levying of user charge; revenue generation through projects such as shopping complexes, multilevel parking etc; notification of Building Bye Laws.
Rio, however, noted that the State is in the early stages of urban development and it may “take some time before property tax would be acceptable to the people of the State.”
“Constitutional provisions for tribal rights also need to be upheld,” he underscored, suggesting for not linking property tax collection criteria for a period of five years for flow of development grant from the Centre to ULBs.
On Greenfield Airport, Foothill Road
Meanwhile, the CM also reiterated some agenda from previous NITI Aayog meeting including the Greenfield Airport at Ciethu, Kohima.
Claiming that Kohima is the only state capital in the country which does not have an airport, he stressed that it was crucial from economic as well as strategic and defence perspective.
The State Government has acquired 1013.72 acres of land at a cost of Rs 18.06 crore and the Airport Authority of India has now done a revised DPR and the option for A320 Airbus aircraft is found feasible, he maintained.
Accordingly, he requested the GoI “immediate sanction of the project.”
The Trans-Nagaland Highway (Foothill Road) stretching 320.25 km would touch seven out of 16 districts of Nagaland, and providing connectivity to the resource rich 3000 sq. km of foothill areas is crucial for the State, he said.
Initially, the funding for the project was taken up under SPA, but after its discontinuation, the proposal is being followed up with the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and feasibility study has been carried out, he added.
In the interest of faster economic development and regional connectivity, therefore, Rio requested for sanctioning of the road at the earliest.
Along with the proposed road, he also called for the Railway Ministry to expedite the railway line connecting Dimapur-Tizit which was approved and announced in the Railway Budget Speech in 2011-12.
The CM also pointed out that most of the NE states except Nagaland had hosted National Games and it immediately needs a Multi-Disciplinary Sports Centre of Excellence.
The Centre in Dimapur was conceived in 2004-05 and the GoN earmarked an area of 64.25 acres for the project, he said.
Rio, however, said that the project was accepted by then Planning Commission with an annual sanction of 10 crore for its completion but was discontinued after NITI Aayog’s formation and it came to a “grinding halt.”
Informing that approximately Rs 157 crore is required for completion, he requested for its immediate sanction by the GoI.
He also noted that the Hydro power potential of the State is yet to be exploited and cited 6 projects for strengthening the power system generating adequate power in the State and earns revenue by supplying it to others.
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