The All Puroik Students’ Union (APSU) has urged the governor to increase the annual budgetary allocation for the Autonomous Puroik Welfare Board (APWB) from Rs 5 crore to at least Rs 10-20 crore. This appeal is aimed at ensuring the comprehensive development of the Puroik community.
According to the APSU, the current Rs 5 crore annual budget is insufficient to meet the comprehensive developmental needs of approximately 12,000 Puroik people living across seven districts. The APWB is expected to address the development and welfare requirements of the entire Puroik community, but the present allocation is limiting its ability to do so effectively.
The APSU pointed out that when the annual budget is divided among seven districts, numerous Puroik-inhabited villages, and multiple developmental sectors, the available financial resources become extremely limited. As a result, the board is compelled to address numerous essential needs with very limited financial flexibility.
The union emphasized that there is an urgent need for a substantial enhancement of the annual budget, considering the population, geographical spread, and developmental challenges faced by the community. An annual allocation of Rs 10-20 crore would provide the APWB with greater financial capacity to undertake comprehensive and balanced development activities across all Puroik-inhabited areas.
With an enhanced budget, the board would be able to strengthen education and student welfare programmes, improve school and educational infrastructure, develop roads, bridges, footbridges, and connectivity, provide drinking water, electricity, and sanitation facilities, and promote youth skill development and employment opportunities. The union appealed to the governor to consider the concern of the Puroik community and sought his intervention to enable the board to effectively fulfill its objectives and address the comprehensive developmental needs of the Puroik community.
The APSU believes that such an enhancement would not only strengthen the APWB but also ensure more balanced, inclusive, and equitable development of the Puroik community across all seven districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
