Kohima: Nagaland Chief Secretary Alemtemshi Jamir has exuded optimism that the proposed Foothill Roads will set in motion the process of industrialization and urbanization in the State.
Addressing the Tenth Anniversary celebration of Ao vernacular daily Tir Yimyim at Dimapur at the IMC Hall on Tuesday, Jamir lauded the initiative of Naga tribes towards construction of the foothill roads, a road connecting all districts of the State without crossing Assam, and urged Nagas to see the foothill roads as not just solving their connectivity problem, but from a larger economic perspective.
He said, the foothill roads could start the engine of industrialization and urbanization in the foothill areas of the State, opening new and viable opportunities for the thousands of educated unemployed youths in the State.
He viewed that this is important because the carrying capacity of our towns today, including Dimapur and Kohima, are limited and has no space for further growth. But to start the process of industrialization and urbanization, he insisted, Nagas must imbibe not just work culture but also industrial culture, which he observed is seriously missing today.
‘We will not progress unless we imbibe work and industrial culture,’ he maintained. But industrialization, modernization and urbanization again are not enough, he observed, without social and land reforms.
According to Jamir, the land tenure system in the State will have to be changed for the society to develop and progress. ‘We must invite investment on our land.
The need is for commoditization of land.
We must change our concept that we’ll not sell land to outsiders,’ he appealed, while calling upon Ao- Nagas to take the lead in this direction. On the unemployment scenario in the State, he said Government employment is at a saturation point, and hence new avenues have to be created for giving gainful employment to the educated youths.
Jamir highlighted that there are around 1.20 Lakhs Government servants in the State now, and for their salaries the State need more than Rs 3,700 crore, while the State’s revenue collection is just Rs 552 crore.
If this is allowed to continue, he said, the Government system would collapse.
Quoting recent data, he said around 4.11 Lakhs students are pursuing school education in the State today, while another 35,000 are college students.
Taking into account students studying outside the State, the annual students’ population of Nagaland would be around 5 Lakhs.
‘After completing their studies, what will they do,’ he asked, while pushing his argument on the importance of the Foothill Roads from an economic standpoint. (UNI)