Nagaland facing acute power deficit, says Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi

Nagaland Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi urged North Eastern Council (NEC) to include power in thrust areas for overall economic development.

Addressing the 70th Plenary of NEC at Guwahati, the governor said that Nagaland was facing an acute power deficit as the State generated only 26 MW against a peak requirement of around 115 MW. 

Further, the governor remarked that the State Government had submitted to NEC a proposal for the construction of a 2.4 MW Duilumroi Hydro Electric Project in the Peren district for gap funding and requested the council to sanction it.

He stressed capacity building and skill development to give gainful employment to a large number of educated unemployed youth. He stated that Nagaland was struggling with the problem of employability of the educated unemployed youth. He observed that the youth of today had high aspirations and expectations. And when these aspirations were not met, frustration set in and they were easily misled to take to crime and anti-national activities, he added.

Noting that most North-eastern States were confronted with insurgency, Mukhi remarked that if peace and development were to be ushered in, then the youth must be provided with opportunities to lead productive lives. He called for imparting these youth with skills in tourism and hospitality, aviation, nursing, paramedics, wellness industry, music and entertainment, IT and the BPOs, sports, etc. besides specialised skills in automobile and construction sectors.

He said Naga tribes had their own rich costumes, patterns and crafts, while basketry, using bamboo and cane, was an integral part of Naga activity. He mentioned that Nagaland had immense potential to export readymade apparel, handlooms, handicrafts and textile products to Southeast Asian countries.

“Harnessing this skill commercially will provide better means of income, particularly to womenfolk in rural areas. NEC may therefore give due emphasis for the development of loin-loom production of the NE States as a promotion of traditional industry,” he stated.

As Nagaland was an agrarian State, the governor commented that the State’s future lay in exploiting opportunities in agriculture and allied activities. He called for giving a push to commercial crops like coffee and rubber. Horticulture was another area where the State had immense potential, he said.

In an age of advanced digital technology today where online services had made many services accessible to the common man at the click of a button, he observed that many young aspiring entrepreneurs were starting small businesses operating from home and marketing their products online. However, he lamented that Nagaland was still struggling with poor internet connectivity. He, therefore, requested NEC to intervene in providing infrastructure for high-speed internet connectivity up to the village level in the entire region.

"I am confident that discussions and deliberations that took place in the meeting will strengthen the NEC not only to provide the much-needed support for the development of the Region but also to be better equipped to cater to the demands and aspirations of the region", governor of Assam and Nagaland tweeted.

He mentioned that with the introduction of the flagship initiative “Start-up India”, the State government too had launched the Nagaland Start-up Policy that aimed to establish Nagaland as a model start-up leader in the region, by creating a culture of entrepreneurship that nurtured creative and innovative youth, allowing them to build successful start-up companies, become job creators and contribute towards building a healthy and sustainable economy.

Under the policy, he said the State aimed to facilitate the growth of at least 500 start-ups in the next five years, with a focus on establishing innovative “Made in Nagaland” products and services. In this regard, he remarked that NEC might intervene in establishing an Innovation hub to house all the start-ups under one roof in PPP mode.

Coaching played a vital role for candidates in clearing competitive exams. But Mukhi noted that most civil service aspirants from Nagaland could not afford to go to New Delhi for coaching as the fees charged by the coaching institutes had become very high. He suggested that NEC could come forward in this field by tying up with a reputed coaching institute for providing online coaching classes at subsidised rates that would immensely help the civil service aspirants.