Itanagar: The Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh has made it to the top 15 aspirational districts of the country, thanks to the transformational development the region has witnessed in the past four years.
Making a quantum jump in its rankings, Namsai, which was at the 93rd position in 2018, has moved to the 14th spot based on the rankings of aspirational districts released by the NITI Aayog for February.
The overall composite score of the district improved from 35.80 in 2018 to 53.40 in February 2022 while its delta scores have also enhanced significantly. Latest: Arunachal’s Namsai top in aspirational district rankings of Niti Aayog
There are a total of 112 aspirational districts across the country.
Union Law minister Kiren Rijiju, who attended a review meeting on the aspirational district programme at the district secretariat here on Sunday congratulated the people of Namsai on the feat.
“Namsai which has witnessed transformational changes in the past four years is now developing into a model district of the state. This is the result of good leadership and an example of judicious use of government funds,” Rijiju said.
Congratulating deputy chief minister Chowna Mein and the district administration for the accomplishment, the union minister said that Namsai’s development model can also be replicated in other districts for the overall development of the state.
Rijiu, who also represents the Arunachal West parliamentary constituency, said Namsai being centrally located in Eastern Arunachal has all the potential to become an educational, tourism and pilgrimage hub.
Rijiju said Arunachal can become the highest per capita income generating state as the central devolution per capita to the state is highest in the north east.
“Arunachal is progressing in a systemized way in all the sectors under the leadership of chief minister Pema Khandu and deputy chief minister Mein. The need of the hour is to enhance revenue generation at local level,” he said.
He further assured to extend necessary support to the district in getting funds for Central Sponsored Schemes and a multipurpose outdoor stadium which he had promised during his previous visit.
Mein in his address attributed Namsai’s growth and transformation to the hard work and dedication of district administration, heads of departments, government employees and other stakeholders.
He also informed that the district recently received a sum of Rs 15 crore as award from NITI Ayog for its superior performance in the delta rankings.
“Namsai has made substantial improvements in the health and nutrition sectors as well. The district’s secured 1st position in delta ranking in 2020 and 2nd in 2019 in the health sector while it topped the rankings twice in 2019 and 2020 in the education sector,” Mein said.
The delta ranking, released by NITI Aayog, shows the progress made by aspirational districts in six developmental areas of health and nutrition, agriculture and water resources, education, financial inclusion, skill development and basic infrastructure.
Namsai MLA Chau Zingnu Namchoom and deputy commissioner R K Sharma also spoke on the occasion
Among others, Lekang MLA Jummum Ete Deori and Namsai ZPC Urmila Mancheykun were present in the meeting.
