Sheekha Bureau
Port Blair, Feb 16: The Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in his maiden Press Interaction today at Raj Niwas managed to win the hearts of media persons with his in depth and sound knowledge about every crucial issue of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and his satisfactory replies to every question raised by local journalists.
Among crucial issues, regarding telecommunication he said that the tendering process for undersea cable to Andaman was completed on 6 February 2018 and Ministry has informed him that the entire process may take one more year to complete. But he said that on his request the Ministry of telecommunication has agreed to increase the bandwidth for Andaman and Nicobar Islands from present 1.2 GBPS to 2.7 GBPS and this will be done phase wise and will be complete in nearly one year time.
Regarding high tariff of broadband he said that he would not comment on corporate decisions but he thinks that this high tariff is largely because private telecom players are not being allowed to raise hardware in Andaman and this matter has already been taken up with the Ministry and now a directive has been given to BSNL to allow private players to raise hardware in BSNL towers, which will bring competition in market. Further, the Telecom Commission has granted permission to erect towers in places where the population is over 100 people.
But he added that media can bring to his notice if there is any major distortion in telecom tariff in Andaman against which he will take necessary action.
Regarding vacant posts the Lt. Governor said that a review has recently been done by him regarding vacant posts and it has been found that around 10,000 vacancies in Category A, B, C and D are there in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He said that for Category A and B, UPSE has to take initiatives and Administration is continuously pressuring the UPSE. He said all other vacancies in other categories will be filled by July 2018. He said that among these vacancies nearly 1000 posts will be filled up by SSC very soon for which process has already been initiated. However he said that vacancies will be filled as per rules and will be open for all candidates of India. He said a major portion of vacant posts are those, against which large number of people are already working as DRM or as Contract employees in APWD and hence those posts appear vacant but people are already working against those posts.
Later the Press brief issued by Raj Niwas regarding the Press Interaction said that with a slew of developmental projects progressing at various stages, the A & N Islands is forging ahead towards faster growth and development. After a gap of 3 years, the Administrator’s Advisory Council meeting was held in November 2017 in which various developmental issues relating to the islands were discussed.
Regarding, Island Development Agency, the Press brief said that the Islands Development Agency has been reconstituted under Chairmanship of Hon’ble Home Minister and LG has been designated as the Vice Chairman. The IDA has the mandate to formulate an integrated Master Plan for comprehensive development of all our Island territories, initiate projects and their implementation. The principles of sustainability, people’s participation, eco-system preservation and determination of carrying capacity will be the guiding principles for development. Various tourism and important infrastructure development projects will be taken up through the IDA. A comprehensive report is being prepared for the holistic development of Ross & Smith, Avis Island in Diglipur and Long Island as also other locations in the Lakshadweep group. Besides this, with the support of NITI Aayog, more Islands will be developed in PPP mode through IDA.
The Administration is promoting sustainable tourism which has contributed a lot towards revenue earning and maintaining the ecology of these Islands. Last year (i.e. in the year 2017) 4,87,000 tourists visited the Islands which shows an increase of 21.80 percent from the previous year. As part of efforts to provide better tourism infrastructure here, Sea Mohwa Grove Eco- Friendly tourism site was operationalized by the Forest Department at Lalaji Bay in Long Island recently, where other projects are also under consideration through IDA.
Regarding shipping, LG’s Press Brief added that the sea route to Baratang has been opened since October 1, 2017. Out of the four 150 passenger capacity harbour crafts that were ordered, three have already reached Port Blair and will commence sailing soon. Work is under progress for the two 500-pax capacity vessels and two 1200- pax capacity vessels. Providing additional ships to Southern Group of islands as well as North & Middle Andaman will be a priority.
The work of passenger hall at Hutbay is completed and will become operational soon. The extension work of the existing dry dock by ALHW is also on fast track and is expected to be completed by December, 2018.
Steps are being taken with the help of Central Agencies to augment ship repair facilities in the islands. This will not only give fillip to shipping industry here but also reduce the time required in ship maintenance and repair. This will also generate employment and help in improving the skill-set of persons associated with shipping sector.
All the working CSCs have been linked with Ship Ticketing Advance Reservation System (STARS) besides additional ticketing counters have been opened, one each at Campbell-Bay, Hut Bay and Rangat.
Regarding Civil Aviation, LG added that, administration is committed towards starting of flight services from Port Blair to Car Nicobar, Campbell Bay and Shibpur for which an MoU has been signed with the Civil Aviation Ministry. Land acquisition process for the construction of airstrips in Shibpur and Campbell Bay is underway and efforts are being undertaken to ensure that the airports will be dual-use and will be available for passenger and defence aircrafts.
Regarding Roads & Bridges, the LG added that about 80 percent works of the National Highway have been awarded and are in different stages of execution while tender for the remaining 20 percent work will be floated soon. The work for the bridge over Humphrey Strait is progressing well while the tender process for the Middle Strait Bridge has been completed. The execution of these works will cut short the present time to half to reach Diglipur from Port Blair.
As far as PRIs & ULB is concerned, the LG added, under the Swatch Bharat Abhiyan, Port Blair has been declared as ‘Open Defecation Free’ on October 2, 2017. Under this Abhiyan, 336 private households’ toilets, 48 community toilets and 35 scattered community toilets were created. In rural area, approval was given for construction of 14,791 household toilets and 141 community toilets, out of which 100% households have been provided with toilets and 99 community toilets have been constructed. Andaman & Nicobar Islands have effectively become open defecation free and declaration for the same will be made soon.
Further PBMC is collecting property tax by adopting Unit Area Rental Value System which has resulted in the increase of revenue collection four times from the earlier system. Under the Smart City scheme, 13,500 street lights have been replaced with LED lights much ahead of the target date. Apart from this, 1300 LED Lights are being installed in the newly created 6 Municipal Wards.
Regarding power, LG’s press belief added that to improve the power situation in Isles, the Nation Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has been tasked to install 15 MW Power Plant in South Andaman by March 31, 2018. Similarly, as a long term solution, 50 MW gas based Power Plant will be installed by NTPC in South Andaman district.
Under the renewable energy sector, the Hon’ble Power Minister has asked the NTPC and the NLC to move forward to install Power Plants with ‘Battery Energy Storage system’. Apart from this, the PGCIL will develop an Energy Management Centre in these Islands for which the Power Ministry will provide funds.
The Administration is taking measures towards self-sufficiency in power generation. Installation of Solar Rooftop Power System and Solar Water Heater System is being made mandatory in all the Govt. and Private buildings for which the Administration will provide financial support.
Regarding health, the press belief said that administration is committed towards providing better health services to the public. Work for a separate ‘MDR TB ward’ and ‘Eye Burns & Oncology ward’ in G B Pant Hospital have been completed and will be operationalized soon. Apart from this, opening of a Trauma Centre in Dr R P Hospital Mayabunder, Primary Health Centre at Durgapur in Diglipur, Urban Health Centre at Dollygunj, Health Sub Centre at Wrafter Creek Baratang and several other proposals are under consideration.
