Kohima selected for Smart City Project
Source: The Sangai Express / Newmai News Network

Kohima, September 20 2016: September 20 will go down in the annals of Nagaland, especially for Chief Minister TR Zeliang as a red letter day.

Not only has Kohima been selected in the list of 27 cities in the country to be taken up as one of Narendra Modi's ambitious Smart City Project, Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang has also got the sanction of Rs 340 crore for Dimapur-Chumukedima, Kohima Check Gate to Lerie Highway, and has also been assured by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice to consider establishment of a separate High Court for Nagaland! .

Kohima found mention in the list of 27 cities announced by the Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu this afternoon.

"It may be mentioned here that Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang had taken up efforts to include Kohima in the Smart City list, on a personal level and had numerous rounds of meetings with the consultants, department officials and all stakeholders in the last few months," the media cell of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.

The CMO said, "Undaunted by the inability of Kohima to find mention in the first and second selection list, the Chief Minister had renewed his effort and had been urging the department concerned to take up the matter on a war footing, and to rectify the short comings which prevented the State capital from getting the required points" .

The Chief Minister also had been meeting Central leaders along with Municipal Affairs Parliamentary Secretary Tohanba, and had been reminding them of the historic and strategic location of Kohima city, being the location of one of the greatest and fiercest as well as one of the most important battlefields of the Allied Forces during WW II.

Presently camped in Delhi, the Chief Minister, upon hearing the good news, rang up the department concerned and personally conveyed the information and congratulated the officials for their hard work which had finally borne fruit.

He is expected to call on the Union Minister tomorrow to thank him personally, the CMO added.

The Chief Minister also has more reasons to rejoice since the Finance Committee of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has approved this afternoon to sanction Rs 340 crore for improvement of the highway from Dimapur to Chumukedima and Kohima Check Gate to Lerie which passes through the State capital.

Today's sanction is apart from the 4-laning project of the National Highway between Kohima and Dimapur which had already been allotted to two mainland firms and for which works are expected to commence once the monsoon ends.

In another development, the Chief Minister, along with Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice, Er Picto called on the Union Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar this afternoon and apprised the latter about the need to have a separate High Court for Nagaland rather than remaining as a bench of the Guwahati High Court, the CMO said.

The Union Minister gave a patient hearing and appreciated the requirements, and assured the Chief Minister that he would take up the matter for consideration on a priority basis.

"Indeed, September 20 has been, and will be, a very memorable day for not only Chief Minister TR Zeliang, but also for all people of Nagaland," the CMO added.

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