On Wednesday, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu honored Chief Minister of Manipur, N. Biren Singh with Champions of Change 2018 award for exemplary leadership for bringing about transformation in governance in his state. The award was conferred on N. Biren Singh at an event organised at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi. The award selection jury was headed by the former Chief Justice of India, Justice K.G. Balakrishnan.
The other prominent awardees who received the award includes union minister of State for Food Processing, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and union minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Sudarshan Bhagat and Member of Parliament, Nishikant Dubey.
According to an IFP report, the award was constituted to recognize remarkable progress made in 115 Aspirational districts whose development is being monitored by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. Manipur was recognized for all-round development on various parameters in its aspirational district Chandel.
With concentrated and collective efforts of state government, state administration and various ministries of central Government, Chandel district has achieved saturation in several national programmes and numerous schemes launched by PM Modi.
Not just Chandel district, under the leadership of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, Manipur has registered remarkable development in the state. Manipur is the first state which has launched Home Delivery of Public Services. On 1st May 2018, CM of Manipur, N. Biren Singh, launched ‘Go To Village’ mission with an objective to reach out to its citizens at their doorsteps. Under the scheme, government programmes and schemes are explained to people and its benefits are also provided to the people. Special attention is being given to ensure timely delivery of services to eligible beneficiaries, address their problems and queries in a smooth and citizen-friendly manner. On the spot solutions are also provided on the same day, without any delay, wherever possible. Special focus is given to schemes and identification of left out eligible beneficiaries for the inclusion of housing, old age pension etc.
The incumbent Chief Minister of Manipur is running the state with all sincerity, sanity, and honesty. He is a visionary leader. The infrastructure work in the state is going on with great speed. The state government is also working in the direction to solve the problems of connectivity with the help of Central government. In a rare feat, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has constructed a 100 meters tall pier in the world’s tallest railway bridge being built near Noney in Manipur. The times of India has quoted senior PRO SK Ojha saying, “We have achieved a major advancement in constructing the world’s tallest bridge near Noney. We have successfully crossed the 100 metre mark, making it India’s tallest pier. The bridge is being constructed across the valley of river Ijai near Noney with the final pier height of 141 metre. On completion, it will surpass the existing record of 139 metre of Mala-Rijeka viaduct in Montenegro in Europe.” The total length of the bridge which is also a national project will be 703 metres. The project has gained momentum in the last three years mainly because of its importance as the national project. The bridge is a part of the 111-km Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal new broad gauge line project. In total, there are 45 tunnels in the project, the longest tunnel being 10.280 km long. It is set to be the longest railway tunnel in the northeast.
The capital city of Manipur, Imphal has had no railway connectivity. The 111-km Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal line will connect Manipur’s state capital Imphal to Jiribam which is on the western-most tip of the northeastern state. Jiribam is an area that adjoins the Cachar district of Assam.
In March this year, PM Modi inaugurated 1000 Anganwadi centers in Manipur and a park dedicated to Rani Gaidinliu. The state also paying attention to problems faced by girls and of women of the state in areas of education. It is constructing several hostels in tribal areas for girls. PM Modi inaugurated once such hostel in March this year.
Chief Minister N.Biren Singh has taken Manipur on the highway of development and prosperity. The state has registered a significant development in all the areas be it infrastructure, education, connectivity, tourism, e-governance etc.