When we think about economic development, we often rank ourselves below Kohima – the state capital, and Dimapur – the economic hub of the state, and wonder how we can even possibly compete with such relatively progressive economies where bulk of the state’s economic growth and development takes place naturally. However, the point should not be to view it through the lens of competition; rather, we should focus on creating our small-town community into a successful and thriving economy while maintaining our historic character and charm, retaining our small-town values and sense of community, and directing our efforts and plans on improving the quality of life of the inhabitants.
As a small town, we face numerous challenges including lack of economic opportunities, issues linked to quality of life, such as educational infrastructure, healthcare facilities, community services etc., and issues related to liveability of inhabitants including spatial provisions like public playgrounds, parks, stadiums and other recreational avenues.
Mokokchung has the potential to foster smart growth in its economy and become a successful community. And by growth and development, we don’t simply mean the quantitative parameters such as the total economic output, construction of broad roads, railways and airports, presence of factories and industries, tall buildings or the like. Wellbeing of its denizens, favourable life expectancy rate, access to safe drinking water, equitable distribution of wealth, high literacy rate, low poverty rate etc., are some of the factors that determine whether a community is successful or not. Remember that Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) takes into account various social and environmental factors such as pollution, crime rates, value of housework and parenting, health standards, besides others.
Besides focussing on improving the above mentioned parameters, to improve the quality of life for the inhabitants, one of the many ways we can adopt to imbue healthy growth and development is to not make the mistake of trying to copy or compete with what other leading economies are doing. Building a cricket stadium just because Dimapur has one, for instance, will not work for us. We should rather focus on capitalizing on our distinctive assets. Case in point, consider tourism, Mokokchung is regarded as the cleanest district in the state as well as considered the music and fashion hub. People will not want to visit just another town in Nagaland, but they may be inspired to visit the cleanest town or the capital of music and fashion.
We should shape our plans around our existing assets as well as pay attention to aesthetics. Planning our land use plan, tourism plan, or the whole economic plan, picking or choosing which developmental projects to implement, should be done in synergic rhythm with our existing assets.
In order for us to become a highly progressive small town, we need strong leaders and committed citizens. We need leaders who have a vision for the future of the town, who plans growth strategies without losing the heart and soul of the town. Most importantly, we need well informed citizens who are committed towards implementing such plans and strategies, citizens who say no to corruption.