Khandu seeks Centre's support for development of Arunachal

Itanagar, Apr 26 (UNI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu has said the priorities of his government were rooting out corruption, revival of state owned APEX Cooperative Bank, streamlining of the public distribution system (PDS), time-bound accelerated implementation of power projects and other critical on-going schemes related to development activities which have direct bearing on the life of rural poor of the state.

Apprising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi yesterday of his government's priorities after assuming his office, Mr Khandu appealed for the development of Arunachal, according to official sources here today.

''Depositors' miseries have multiplied and life devastated. We need to address the problem urgently and arrange for resources to return their hard earned money,'' he said.

The APEX Cooperative Bank had the public deposit base of Rs 160 crores, but gross mismanagement in granting loans to the tune of Rs 147 crores without proper verification was the main problem of the bank to recover the loan amount, he said adding that the bank was not in a position to repay the depositors who comprised mainly from poor rural people.

The amount of Rs 147 crores also included government money belonging to various departments like Rural Development, Panchayat and District Administration, Mr Khandu said.

He also requested the Prime Minister for his intervention in removing hurdles on the path of hydropower development, which has the potential to make Arunachal Pradesh economically self-sufficient.

''Our prized asset- 82 per cent area under forests having rich biodiversity has become a liability in regard to development of our hydropower potential,'' he said in his written appeal to the Prime Minister adding ''underdevelopment and poverty increase peoples' dependence on forests and thereby their destruction. If environmentalism of NGOs succeed in stonewalling our endeavours to develop huge power potential of Arunachal Pradesh, it will address power crisis at the national level, otherwise, we will neither have power nor be able to save our forests.'' MORE UNI