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Why Arunachal is an 'undiscovered gold mine'
'India's gateway to South-East Asia'
Arunachal Pradesh is the eastern most state of India. It is one of the few states in India which has a boundary with three countries (China, Bhutan and Myanmar). Therefore its position is geo-strategically important.
It is also India's gateway to South-East Asia. It could be a hub for trade, commerce and India's 'Look East policy'. This shows the importance of this region.
It is also a resource-rich region. It has natural resources in abundance, not yet fully discovered. In fact, it is an undiscovered gold mine.
It has oil, coal and other resources like forests and fresh water. Arunachal has the most luxuriant flora and the fauna. We grow all sorts of fruits such as kiwis, walnuts, apples, pineapples, bananas, litchis and also oranges. The state could supply the entire region with high quality oranges.
It has an amazing variety of flora and fauna and is one the biodiversity hotspots of the planet; perhaps one of the few remaining. Sometimes for miles, there is no habitation, only forest covered mountains. There are places which have never been visited by men. It is one of the few 'as God made it' places left on the planet.
But because of its remoteness, the mountainous terrain and the densely forested areas, development, till recently, lagged behind in many other parts of the country.
Since 2008, development has been the focus of the state government. With an immense development package and unflinching support of central government, Arunachal is going through a historic phase
one can say that no part of the world is being developed at this pace. To give you two examples: there will be a four-way lane from Itanagar to Guwahati (in Assam) as well as a Trans-Arunachal highway of 1,600 kms, connecting the western part of the state to the easternmost part, running through and connecting eleven district headquarters en-route.
Today to go from one valley to another, one has to come down to Assam and go up the next valley. Once the trans-Arunachal highway is completed, there is no need not come down the feeder roads to Assam.
The new trans-Arunachal road will thus benefit the people of the state. The work on this project is being started from various points, simultaneously.
We have already connected the 16 districts headquarters and now we are going forward to various areas and settlements not connected as yet.
Arunachal have such a variety of landscapes: glaciers, alpine climate, and then the tropical and the rain forests. In Arunachal Pradesh, you can come down from 20,000 feet to 1,000 feet over a distance of 150 to 200 km.
Such gradients are very rare anywhere in the world and have led to development of immense varieties of flora and fauna and natural vegetation.
Arunachal is thinking along many dimensions. Arunachal is thinking in terms of adventure tourism (the state has the longest stretch of the Himalayas), mountaineering, white-water rafting; and are also thinking of religious tourism as the state not only has Tawang, one of the largest Buddhist monasteries after Lhasa, but also Parasuram Kund, a very famous Hindu pilgrimage near Tezu and several other religious sites.
Also there will of course lay increased stress on eco-tourism. In last three years it has discovered one new species of bird, one of a fish, one of a mammal called 'Black Pica' as well as a rare butterfly.
Four new species have been discovered in three years and this has been documented. This is why we call it 'an undiscovered gold mine'.
In 10 years time, the Arunachalis may be the richest Indians by per capita income standards. The population is small and between tourism and power projects, Arunachalis have a bright future. We can sell the surplus power produced by hydropower plants and get handsome revenues for the state.
The projects being undertaken have a long gestation period, some may take upto eight or ten years to concretise. In the meanwhile, tourism is something that we can make a livelihood from and provide jobs to many young people.
Besides this, handicraft development like in the Poma village (a pet project of the governor and his wife to create beautiful crafts using bamboo) can help. Today 60 or 70 families are surviving in this village without having to come to the town.
One point should be remembered: Arunachalis are the most patriotic Indians. They feel so strongly for the country. For example, they went to Jantar Mantar and told the Chinese clearly and loudly: "We are part of India". They are the ones who first protested against the stapled visas.
The 1st battalion of Arunachal Scouts was successfully raised in November last year after persistent efforts from both the Raj Bhavan and the state government.
Arunachal have now requested the central government to sanction at least three more battalions over a period of three to five years, including a dedicated training centre. The 'Scouts' will be a force multiplier for the regular army units in the days to come.
They can live off the land, can speak local language and need no acclimatisation. The Arunachali youth will get a chance to serve their motherland as well. This will pay us rich future dividends.
