Pasighat: Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu laid the foundation stone of Pasighat smart city here on Sunday.

The East Siang district headquarters, 264km from capital Itanagar, which missed the smart city bus for two consecutive rounds, finally made it to the list last year.

Junior home minister Kiren Rijiju, deputy chief minister Chowna Mein, urban development and municipal affairs minister Nabam Rebia, Pasighat East MLA Kaling Moyong, and state BJP president Tapir Gao were present at the ceremony.

"Along with the smart city, the people of the town should also become smart. I was hopeful that Itanagar will also make it to the smart city list," Rijiju said.

"The efforts of the state government, the Pasighat Municipal Council, MPs and MLAs and especially the people of the state and Pasighat in particular, helped realise the dream," he added.

Chowna Mein said, "The resources of the state must be considered while formulating the project at micro level. The state government has requested the Centre for funding on 90:10 share basis for various projects."

"This is the result of team effort of the local community, administration and public leaders. I salute the people of Pasighat for their hard work and determination," Khandu said. He congratulated Itanagar on making it to the smart city list.

Established in 1911, Pasighat, along with 97 other cities, had been selected for the first round of the smart city race in 2016. Pasighat, with a population of around 25,000, was the only town from Arunachal Pradesh to figure in the list, ahead of even Itanagar. Situated at 155metres above the sea level, it is one of the oldest towns in the state.

Smart Cities Mission is an urban renewal and retrofitting programme of the Centre to develop 100 cities (the target has been revised to109) across the country, making them citizen-friendly and sustainable.