Independence Day celebrated in Mizoram

The 68th Independence Day was celebrated in Mizoram Friday with Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla unfurling the national flag at the Assam Rifles ground here.

The chief minister, in his Independence Day speech, said the state has achieved success in economic, educational and societal empowerment of people.

"The Mizoram government has achieve success to give economic, educational and societal empowerment of people. In the coming years, this success would be further intensified," he said.

"The state government has achieved a huge success in implementation of its flagship programme - New Land Use Policy (NLUP) - to remove the age old 'Jhum' cultivation (slash and burn method of cultivation)," Lal Thanhawla said.

"The state government continues to give utmost priority to implementation of NLUP targeting to benefit 120,000 families and aiming to bring about socio-economic transformation."

The chief minister said that during the past three years, the state government has covered 120,000 families under the NLUP in three successive phases.

"Another 15,000 deserving families are being brought under its fold, for which selection of 10,000 families has already been made. With this, the NLUP would cover 135,000 households in the state."

"The NLUP apex board has decided to prepare additional projects for extension of NLUP for another five years from 2015-16 financial year onwards, involving central agencies like NABARD, APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Exports Development Authority) and others," he said.

The chief minister said the state government has implemented several central and state schemes to modernise police and other security forces of the state.

Lal Thanhawla said the implementation of Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System project was actively taken up by CID under the supervision of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

The Economic Offences Wing, Anti-Human Trafficking Unit and Cyber Crime Cell have been set up under Superintendent of Police CID, he added.

According to the chief minister, a 50-seat medical college -- Mizoram Institute of Medical Education and Research -- would be set up at Falkawn, near Aizawl, to further improve the higher education in the state.

"The Mizoram State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has been constituted for ensuring better protection of rights of children," the chief minister said.

The State Resource Centre for Women has also been set up for economic and social empowerment of women with emphasis on health and education, he said.