We conider remotest border village as country's first village, not last: PM in Arunachal

Modi said that his government did not keep elections in mind while executing development projects in the Northeast

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday stated that the government at the Centre now works considering the remotest border villages as the country's first village, not the last, as was treated in the past.

"Earlier, remote border villages were treated as the last village. Our government worked by considering the villages in the border areas as the first village of the country. This has resulted in making the development of the Northeast a priority for the government," Modi said after inaugurating the Donyi Polo airport and the 600MW Kameng hydro-electric project in Arunachal Pradesh, a state that shares its border with China, Myanmar and Bhutan.

“Be it agriculture or culture, tourism or trade, telecom or textiles, Northeast gets priority”, the Prime Minister said while stating that previous governments at the Centre did not consider the development of the Northeast as a priority.

Also read | Centre to spend Rs 50,000 crore on infrastructure development of Arunachal: PM Modi

The Prime Minister gave examples of the longest bridge in India, the longest railroad bridge, rail line connectivity and record constructions of highways to highlight the development carried out in the region. “This is a new era of expectations and aspirations and today’s programme is a perfect example of the new approach of India," Modi said.

"It was Atal Behari Vajpayee's government which formed a seperate department for the development of the Northeast. But the government that came to power after him did not maintain the momentum," he said.

Modi said that his government did not keep elections in mind while executing development projects. "There is no election now. But we have completed the projects," he said.

The foundation for the construction of the Donyi Polo airport, the first greenfield airport near state capital Itanagar was laid by Modi in 2019. The airport has been developed in an area of over 690 acres, at a cost of more than Rs 640 crore. With a 2,300-m runway, the airport is suitable for all weather day operations. This is the fourth airport in the frontier state but it will connect the state capital directly with New Delhi and other big cities.

"From 1947 to 2014, only nine airports were built in the Northeast. In a short span of eight years, seven airports have been built in the Northeast. This rapid development of airports in the region reflects the special emphasis of the Prime Minister on enhancing connectivity in the Northeast," Modi said adding that the number of flights from the region has doubled.

Aircraft movement in the Northeast has also witnessed an increase of 113 per cent since 2014, from 852 per week in 2014 to 1,817 per week in 2022.

Kameng power project

Developed at a cost of more than Rs 8,450 crore and in an area spread over more than 80 kilometres in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, this power project will make Arunachal Pradesh a power surplus state, also benefiting the National Grid in terms of grid stability and integration, Modi said. It will contribute to the fulfilment of the country’s commitment to increase the adoption of green energy, he added.

Highlighting the infrastructural developments in Arunachal Pradesh, the PM gave the example of highway construction in remote and inaccessible areas and further added that the central government is going to spend another Rs 50,000 crore in the near future.