Mizoram witnessing remarkable economic growth in recent years: Governor

Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai on Sunday said Mizoram has been witnessing "remarkable" economic progress in recent years with the state having registered 14.82 per cent growth last year, which is "one of the best" in the country.

If this "momentum of growth" continued for the next ten years, it would be possible for the state to eradicate poverty, ensure all round development of people and become self-sufficient, the governor said in his speech at the Republic Day function at Assam Rifles ground here.

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He attributed the growth to the states flagship programme, Socio-Economic Development Policy (SEDP)', that aims at accelerating progress in key sectors and transforming Mizoram into a welfare state. Pillai hailed the state government for its achievements in all vital sectors and taking up a slew of initiatives on various fronts to build a strong and self-reliant state.

Mentioning that priority was being accorded to agriculture and allied sectors, he said, "The government has taken a number of steps to alleviate the problems faced by farmers and one such initiative was setting up of state to district-level co-ordination committee for doubling farmers' income by 2020."

In collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the state government has implemented a project called 'Capacity Enhancement for Sustainable Agriculture and Irrigation Development in Mizoram', he said. The government is also making massive efforts to improve basic infrastructure in rural areas by implementing various schemes, he said.

Efforts are being made to improve tourism, education, sports, horticulture, among others, he added. The governor also emphasised the importance of peace and development and appealed to people to make concerted efforts towards this end. "Bharat that is India has been and will always be a place where there is unity and tolerance for all kinds of religions," he said.

He also hailed the recent quadripartite agreement to end the two-decade-old Bru imbroglio and thanked all stakeholders for the historic event. Seeking to put an end to the 23-year-old Bru-Reang refugee crisis, the agreement was signed among the Centre, state governments of Tripura and Mizoram and Bru-Reang representatives to facilitate permanent settlement of Bru refugees in Tripura.

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