Aizawl, Nov 25: Alleging that corruption has
reached "endemic" proportion under the Mizo National Front
government, Prime minister Manmohan Singh today said
Mizoram needed a government which could exploit the state's
potential in agriculture and create new industry and jobs.
"Your state needs a government that will fulfill its
enormous potential in agriculture, create new industry and
thousands of jobs ... a government that will not be an inward-
looking and that will be interested in building stronger
bridges with mainstream Indian economy," he told an election
rally launching Congress campaign for the December 2 assembly
elections.
Addressing the rally on his maiden visit to the state,
Singh said "I am sorry to say that corruption under the MNF
government has reached endemic proportions ... there are
allegations of irregularities by the state government
machinery."
The Centre had given Rs 125 crore to meet the menace
of bamboo flowering, the Prime Miniser said and asked "what
happened to all this money?
"Do you really want a government which is
unaccountable and tainted? The Congress party does not believe
in the blame game but the facts are there for you to see."
Giving a list of development projects undertaken by
the UPA government for the benefit of the people of Mizoram,
the Prime Minister said former RBI Governor Dr Rangarajan's
report on the problems of the North East was followed up
sincerely.
The Centre, Singh said, launched a massive Rs 5500
crore special accelerated road development programme for the
north eastern region on the assessment that connectivity was
its greatest hurdle.
The Prime Minister said that under various programmes
such as the National Rural Health Mission, the Sarva Siksha
Abhiyan and the Jawarharlal Nehru Urban Renewal mission the
Centre had forwarded sufficient funds to the MNF government,
which "failed" to implement them due to "inefficiency".
Giving examples of delay by the government, he said
the 60MW Turial hydel project had been delayed and 12MW Serlui
B Project remained incomplete.
He said over 20,000 Mizo farmers had received benefits
of the Rs 34.22 crore loan waiver launched by the Centre but
this could not hasten the slow pace of development in the
agriculture sector.
The Centre, he said, had launched the horticulture
mission "but unfortunately the Mizoram government has not
submitted the requisite proposals to implement it though vast
potentialities exists in the state.
"If these programmes are not touching your lives in
Mizoram and do not have the desired impact, it is because the
MNF government has failed and funds earmarked for the
state were not utilised," Singh said.
Expressing concern at the largescale dropouts from
schools in Mizoram, Singh said every second Mizo child dropped
out of formal education system at the primary stage itself.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 00:00