Pasighat, the oldest town in Arunachal Pradesh, is going to be a smart city as Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Sunday laid the foundation stone for smart city at the IGJHS School playground in presence of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju.
It may be mentioned that Pasighat, the headquarters of East Siang district in the Arunachal Pradesh, is situated at the eastern foothills of the Himalayas at 155 meters above mean sea level.
The Central Government included Pasighat in the Smart Cities Mission Development Scheme in June, 2017.
Khandu while speaking on the occasion said that Pasighat will be turned into a smart city with an investment of Rs 1534 crore. He also informed that the core element of infrastructure development of smart city would include adequate electricity and water supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, robust IT connectivity and safety and security of citizens particularly of women and children.
The foundation laying programme was also attended by Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, Urban Housing & Municipal Affairs Minister Nabam Rebia, Rural Development Minister Alo Libang, Power Minister Tamiyo Taga, local MLA-cum-Parliamentary Secretary (DM) Kaling Moyong, Advisor to CM Lombo Tayeng besides Lok Sabha MP Ninong Ering, other Parliamentary Secretaries, MLAs, State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Tapir Gao, PMC Chief Councilor Kaling Doruk and councilors, a host of officers, leaders and general public.
Pasighat was founded in 1911 AD by the British Raj as a gateway to the administrative convenience of the greater Abor Hills of Arunachal Pradesh.
Khandu also thanked the Central Government for approving two smart cities for the State – Pasighat and Itanagar despite being a small State and said the people of Arunachal will always remain thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA Government.