ITANAGAR, May 15 - Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has appealed to the Prime Minister to consider his proposal for setting up of a greenfield airport at Hollongi near Itanagar.
Greeting the Prime Minister in a public function at Indira Gandhi Park here, the Chief Minister said that the state needs an airport in order to bring in development. �As connectivity is the main issue for all-round development, and, therefore, we need an airport,� he said.
Reiterating his stance to have a separate cadre of civil service officers for the state, Khandu pleaded the Prime Minister, �Give me a dedicated cadre of civil servants specific to Arunachal Pradesh and I promise to change the face of Arunachal Pradesh in the next five years.�
Expressing gratitude to the Prime Minister for taking time out from his hectic schedule to visit the state twice in three years, Khandu said no other Prime Minister ever did that. He said due to Modi�s love and care for the North-east, the dynamics of the region has taken a complete overhaul.
He also said during the erstwhile Congress regime, north-eastern states had to visit New Delhi at least twice a month with their respective issues and problems. However, Modi has accorded priority to this region, he pointed.
�Since 2014, hundred-plus visits have been made to the north-eastern states by the Union Ministers along with their officers to resolve issues pertaining to respective states,� Khandu said.
The Chief Minister also assured the Prime Minister that the BJP Government in Arunachal will give account of every penny granted by the Central Government and that the government in the state has changed since his (Modi�s) visit to the state in 2015. �It is the responsibility of team Arunachal to give account of every penny spent from the Government exchequer, and we will do it,� he asserted.
