Mokokchung, July 18 (MTNews): The Rising People’s Party (RPP) has written to the North Eastern Council (NEC) requesting the statutory body to withhold or reject the most recent “Prioritized Project” list, which includes 30 projects worth Rs. 120 crore and was submitted by the Nagaland Cabinet on June 21 for approval under the NEC 2022–23, citing corruption and lack of good governance. RPP also told NEC that any new project should be undertaken only after an independent survey of all the past NEC projects is carried out in the state.
“While the NEC as a statutory body is tasked with the vision for the overall development of the NER, the Rising People’s Party (RPP) would like to remind the NEC that it has a moral obligation not to create an enabling environment to propagate corruption,” RPP said in the letter to NEC.
The new political party also mentioned that the justification for the NEC not to approve Nagaland projects is manifold. It asserted that “most of the projects, including CSS, NEC, or DoNER projects are implemented only on paper,” and alleged that “Nagaland State has probably the biggest per capita share of projects being implemented in the country, but the ground reality is otherwise.”
The latest CAG Report, which said that “fiscal mismanagement and fraudulent withdrawals amounting to thousands of crores was systemic and unchecked,” was also referenced by the RPP.
The party also cited statistics from the NITI Aayog’s SDGI index 2021, which showed that Nagaland was the worst performing state across six parameters (poverty, health, affordable energy, sustainable cities, industries and infrastructure).
“Ours is also the Worst Performing State as per State Energy and Climate Index (SECI), NITI Aayog 2022. Nagaland ranks an embarrassingly 33rd out of 35 states & UTS. Nagaland ranks as the Worst Performing State under the National Health Index 2019-20 (NITI Aayog). The state’s budget deficit is perpetual with the latest being minus 2212.74 Crore for the year 2022 23,” stated the written application to NEC.
The party continued by saying that Nagaland was now the only state in India without a medical college and that the one project that was started in 2014 is still unfinished after nine long years.
The party also criticized that while “exorbitant amount has been sanctioned by the Central government without any output,” the Nagaland High Court building remains incomplete even after 15 years. The motion stated that “PIL with regard to this issue is still pending in the High Court with both the CBI and the ED pursuing the matter.”
RPP also mentioned that Nagaland University ranks as the worst in the NE region with scores in the 151-200 band under National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).
The party lamented that not even one of the 30 prioritized projects as submitted by the state government is in the “Aspirational District” of Kiphire, despite the Government of India going the extra mile to ensure that the fruits of development reach all corners of the country.
The party concluded by requesting that the NEC refrain from starting any new projects in the state of Nagaland in order to realize the Prime Minister’s vision of a corruption-free India. “Any new project should be undertaken only after an independent survey of all the past NEC projects is carried out in the state,” it said.
The RPP was hopeful that the NEC taking such a “positive action” will do much to inculcate good governance in the state.