Aizawl: Mizoram’s main opposition party, the Mizo National Front (MNF), on Friday accused Chief Minister Lalduhoma of “secretly” attempting to shift the state capital from Aizawl to Thenzawl in Serchhip district and of seeking funds from the Centre to execute the plan.
The government designated Thenzawl as a census town about 93 km from Aizawl; it lies in the Serchhip constituency, which elected Lalduhoma consecutively in the 2018 and 2023 assembly polls.
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MNF general secretary Zodinpuia alleged that Lalduhoma secretly submitted a petition to the Centre seeking financial assistance to relocate the state capital to Thenzawl, which he has kept hidden from the public until now.
“On April 24, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs sent letters to the Mizoram chief secretary and the resident commissioner of Mizoram House in Delhi under the subject ‘Shifting of State Capital from Aizawl to Thenzawl’, asking them to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) on the matter,” Zodinpuia said while addressing a function at the MNF office in Aizawl.
Several official documents accessed by the MNF also referenced the proposed shifting of the state capital from Aizawl to Thenzawl, he added.
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Accusing the chief minister of concealing his agenda from the public, the MNF leader said Lalduhoma had only spoken about developing Thenzawl into a peace city to decongest Aizawl.
He said the chief minister neither disclosed his actual plan nor consulted the people of Mizoram, particularly the residents of Aizawl, on the matter.
“We demand that the chief minister clarify his secret plan to shift the state capital from Aizawl to Thenzawl,” Zodinpuia said.
The Chief Minister’s Office could not be reached for comment.
Earlier, Lalduhoma had said that plans were underway to develop Thenzawl and its surrounding areas into a peace city (Muanna Khawpui), which would accommodate 10 to 15 lakh residents.
He stated that he discussed the plan with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought financial assistance from the Centre.
Lalduhoma said the government will soon formulate a master plan for developing the proposed peace city.
He added that the plan aimed to decongest Aizawl, which has witnessed increasing migration from other parts of the state.
According to Lalduhoma, about 80 per cent of Mizoram’s urban population resides in Aizawl.