Kohima, March 7: Nagaland has planned captive breeding of mithun, the wild bison found in the hilly reaches of the Northeast, and set up state-of-the-art abattoirs to process and package the meat for marketing.
Announcing the successful experiments on captive breeding of mithuns, chief minister Neiphiu Rio said his government was looking into the huge investment and market potential of bison meat. Successful experiments were also conducted in cattle rearing, piggery and poultry farming, he said. The chief minister said the state has abundant potential in floriculture, organic farming and bamboo, too.
Inaugurating a seminar of the North East Development Finance Corporation (NEDFi) here, Rio aggressively marketed Nagaland as the best investment destination in the region. The state is the first in the country to have met the fiscal reform milestones stipulated by the Eleventh Finance Commission, he claimed.
Commending the peace process, he said: ?After 50 years of conflict and violence, the Naga people?s overwhelming desire for peace has been acknowledged.?
However, Rio, home minister T.M. Lotha, industries minister Khekiho Zhimomi and chief secretary R.S. Pandey criticised the financial institutions for not releasing enough funds for development activities in the state.
NEDFi chairman and managing director J.P. Saikia clarified that the corporation has disbursed Rs 10.16 crore to 63 units in Nagaland.