Two months ahead of elections to 21 urban local bodies in Tripura, Chief Minister Manik Saha said the state government was preparing a master plan to modernise municipal bodies and upgrade civic infrastructure across the state. He was speaking at the inauguration of a newly constructed two-storey ward office in Pratapgarh under the Agartala Municipal Corporation.

Saha said the plan would support the development of modern infrastructure in all Nagar Panchayat and Municipal Council areas, alongside implementation of the Smart City Mission in Agartala. The ward office was constructed at a cost of Rs. 9.74 mn. He said the government’s objective was to ensure that all sections of society benefited from development and improved civic services.

The chief minister said government services were being taken closer to residents and that development would be delivered irrespective of political affiliation. He referred to the objective of ensuring that public facilities and development reached the last person in society, and said services were being expanded across Tripura.

Saha said Agartala had recorded significant progress in civic infrastructure in recent years. Projects had focused on safe drinking water, road construction and repairs, drainage improvements, pucca housing, alternative employment opportunities and expanded healthcare services. Under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 scheme, safe drinking water projects worth Rs. 1.12 bn had been implemented.

The government had provided safe drinking water to 16,000 families under the AMRUT 2.0 project, while 48 flats had been constructed for economically weaker sections and work on two additional flats was underway. Saha said further programmes would be taken up under AMRUT 3.0. He added that 65 projects had been implemented across Agartala under the Smart City Mission at a cost of Rs. 5.81 bn, with further efforts focused on infrastructure development, beautification and stronger civic facilities. Agartala Municipal Corporation Mayor Dipak Majumder, Deputy Mayor Monika Das Dutta and other officials attended the event.