Aizawl, Feb 23: In his customary address to the first day of the State Assembly budget session today, Mizoram Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai lauded the state’s performances in the Sustainable Development Goals ranking by NITI Aayog.
While Kerala and Himachal Pradesh are the frontrunners with a score of 68, Mizoram ranks 6th position with a score of 59 among the states of India, the Governor said. He added that Mizoram tops in SDG-10 with a score of 100 and ranks 2nd in both SDG-2 and SDG-7, with index score of 69 and 78 respectively.
“The State Government continues to take initiatives in achieving immense progress in the next ranking,” the Governor said.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
The Mizoram Planning & Programme Implementation, which is the nodal department for implementation of the SDGs in Mizoram, has published ‘Mizoram Vision 2030’ and is made available in the department’s website.
Talking about the Special Economic Development Programme, the state’s flagship programme that aims to boost the state’s economy in key sectors, the Governor highlighted that Rs 148.00 crore was allocated to the programme in 2020-21, which however was reduced to Rs 82.45 crore due to 15 percent budgetary cut necessitated by COVID-19 pandemic.
The Governor gave an assurance that his government remained committed to peace and addressing the needs and demands of the people, as it was seen even during the hardest times we had faced in the last year. At the same time, he had applauded the people of Mizoram for their character, strength and resilience during the harshest time. After congratulating the current government under the leadership of Chief Minister Zoramthanga for having successfully navigated the state through the trying times of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Governor then proceeded to highlight a brief outline of the achievements and visions of the government of Mizoram.
Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who also holds the Finance portfolio, will present the annual budget for fiscal 2021-2022 on March .
The budget session will continue till March 17.
Assembly official said three government bills, including "The Mizoram Licensing and Regulation of Private Veterinary Hospitals and Clinics Bill, 2012" will be laid during the session, he said.
