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DEVELOPMENT
OF NORTH EASTERN REGION
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Within a
week of assuming power, the UPA Government upgraded the Department
of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) to a Ministry
in order to further sharpen the focus on development issues of the
Northeastern Region. Thus
the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region was functional
from May 28, 2004.
Revitalisation
of the North Eastern Council
The North Eastern Council (NEC) has been restructured
to effectively function as a Regional Planning Body. As per the recommendations of an expert committee constituted for
this purpose, Minister, DoNER has been made the Chairman of NEC
for better synergy. Besides, three expert Members, at par with the
Members of the Planning Commission, have been nominated to the NEC.
New Secretariat for the North Eastern Council
A new complex, equipped with modern communication and other
facilities, has been established for the NEC Secretariat to effectively
discharge its role for the integrated development of the NER. The
NEC has started functioning from its new premises.
Vision Document
for the North Eastern Region
A Committee has been appointed by the Chairman,
NEC to draw up a Blue Print for formulation of a Comprehensive time-bound
Road Map for Speedy Socio-Economic Upliftment of the NER. The “North East Vision -2020”
document is being prepared, taking into account the heightened consciousness
of the people in the NER, their aspirations, needs and sensitivities.
It would encompass all the key sectors of the economy and the vast
resource potential of the Region. The Vision Document is expected
to be ready later this year.
Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources
(NLCPR)
The Ministry has streamlined the process
for approval of projects under its flagship Scheme of NLCPR. As
a result a large number of projects could be sanctioned during this
period. The number of projects sanctioned during this period was
187, which is 24 per cent of
the total of 767 projects sanctioned since the commencement of NLCPR
during 1998-99. A Custom made software has been developed by
NIC for monitoring NLCPR projects. With improved monitoring and
concerted efforts, 375 of the 767 projects have been completed.
The total outflow from NLCPR to the Northeastern States during the
last two years has been Rs. 1,329 crore, including Rs.200 crore
for the development of Bodoland Areas. The release constitutes 36
per cent of the total releases made since inception under the Scheme.
Some
of the important projects taken up during the last two years under
this scheme are: "Waithou
- Pat Water Supply Scheme" has been approved for Thoubal district
in Manipur at a total cost of Rs.59.71 crore. It is a composite
scheme designed to supply 20.00 MLD of drinking water to 56 villages
and 5 towns. In Tripura, Three important projects, namely "Rokhia
Gas based Thermal power project (unit VIII)", “Government Medical
College & Hospital” for intake of 100 students every year, and
"State Level Para-Medical Institute at Agartala" have
been sanctioned at a cost of Rs.80.94 crore, Rs. 88.55 crore and
Rs.14.07 crore, respectively. Rokhia Power Plant is slated to generate
21 MW of electricity, whereas, the Para-Medical Institute will train
around 200 technicians in different disciplines every year. In Assam,
a project for "Creation of Main Athletic Stadium Complex, along
with multi-purpose Indoor Hall at Guwahati", has been sanctioned
for the National Games 2005 at total cost of Rs.55.10 crore. It
includes construction of Main Athletic Stadium, AC Indoor Stadium,
Aquatic Complex and Shooting Range. Thirty-six projects at total
cost of Rs.400.85 crore have been taken up for development of Bodoland
Territorial Council (BTC) areas in Assam. Four major road projects
have been taken up at a total cost of Rs.105.54 crore in Nagaland.
Thirteen Roads and Bridges projects, costing Rs. 179.89 crore, were
sanctioned for Arunachal Pradesh during this period.
North Eastern Council
The NEC has
released, Rs. 959 crore have been provided to the Northeastern
States for implementation of development schemes. The sector-wise
break-up is as under:
(Rs. In crore)
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S.No.
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Sectors
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Released (2004-06)
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1.
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Agriculture and allied sectors
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2.
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Power, Water Development and RRE
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3.
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Industries and Tourism
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4.
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Transport and Communication
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5.
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Medical and Health sector
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6.
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Manpower Development Sector
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7.
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Externally aided project
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8.
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Science and technology sector
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9.
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Information, publicity and public relations
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10.
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Evaluation and monitoring cell
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Total
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To improve
Air connectivity in the region, NEC provided Rs.35 crore per annum
to Alliance Air for the operation of 4 ATR aircrafts. The frequency
of flights has improved from 74 to 141 and the seat availability
from 7518 to 9617 per week from and into the Region. With the assistance
of NEC, 7 airports in the region were upgraded and work on 3 others
is in progress.
The NEC supported
the construction of new Inter-State Bus Terminuses at Guwahati,
Silchar and Aizawl. The work on these already been completed. Two
Inter-State Truck Terminuses are also being funded.
Other major
works supported by NEC include important roads and bridges, transmission
lines, Loktak Lake Conservation project, employment oriented training
programmes, e-governance support to the States and assistance to
medical institutes for upgradation of facilities. So far, 40 Timber
bridges were converted into permanent bridges. Under the Telemedicine
scheme, equipment has been installed at 11 sites and work at other
24 sites is in progress. For IT education, 2 PCs per school have
been provided to 122 schools.
The NEC has
constituted NE Regional Educational Council for making education
relevant to the needs of the region.
The NEC is
launching three regional missions on Bamboo, International Trade
and Horticulture so as to focus on growth sectors, which could catalyse
the development process in the NER.
A Steering
Committee on Security and Public
order, headed by the Union Home Secretary, has been constituted
to address security and border related issues.
To better
manage disasters, five stations have been established to collect
earthquake related information with the help of the NE Space Application
Centre at Shillong.
Indian Institute of Management for the NER
The North Eastern region did not
have adequate facilities for higher education, particularly in technical
and managerial fields. To address this situation, a major decision
has been taken by the Central Government to establish an Indian
Institute of Management (IIM) at Shillong with support from
the Ministry of DoNER. The Institute will cater to the need of the
talented youth of the NER for cutting-edge managerial education.
It would also help inculcating and promoting modern management techniques
in the NER, both in the Government and Private sectors.
Rajiv Gandhi
Girls Hostel at Delhi University
Increasing number of students from the NER attend
institutes of higher education in Delhi and other cities. They,
particularly girl students, face considerable hardship in finding
proper and affordable accommodation at these places. The Ministry
of Tribal Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of DoNER, has
decided to establish a 500-seat girls hostel for the students of
the NER in Delhi University. The NEC will be bearing 60 per cent
of the cost of construction while the rest will be contributed by
the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The foundation stone for the hostel,
named after Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi, was laid on January 6, 2006.
Capacity
Building Programmes
In order
to improve the delivery of services and to enhance the employability
of the youth of North Eastern Region, long term arrangements for
skill upgradation and training have been established with the Centres
of Excellence, namely, IIM Calcutta, DGET, New Delhi, lIT Guwahati,
Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET)
Chennai, National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Kolkata,
Toy Making Institute Kolkata, and The Energy and Research Institute (TERI),
New Delhi. A significant programme for training in Information Technology
has also been taken up. The training programmes have started yielding
results in terms of employment of the trained youth.
A major programme has been launched for building
up entrepreneurship through the Ministry’s Enterprises, North Eastern
Development Financial Corporation (NEDFC) and North Eastern Regional
Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC). It is proposed to
take advantage of the strengths of the Region in Horticulture, Handlooms
and Handicrafts. The programme will help a large number of
small individual entrepreneurs and self help groups attain self
reliance.
The NER has considerable potential
for becoming an integral and significant player in the “Look east
policy” of the Central Government due to its proximity with the
Southeast Asian countries. The Ministry has also provided assistance
to the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts for carrying out a
study on the sociological impact of the opening up borders and consequent
increased trade and cultural interaction.
Advocacy
and Showcasing of the NER
To showcase the potential and strengths of the
Region, a number of important events and exhibitions in diverse
areas, such as trade, investment, tourism, handlooms and
handicrafts and agriculture, have been supported and organised.
Major exhibitions have been organised in Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati,
which have provided the much needed domestic and international exposure
to the unique products of the NER, apart from generating significant
sales. During the current year, arrangements are being made to have
exhibitions in other major cities like Mumbai, Banglore, Hyderabad
and Chennai.
Assistance has also been provided to the PSUs,
including NERAMAC and North Eastern Handloom & Handicrafts Development
Corporation (NEHHDC), for upgrading and expanding their showcasing
arm for marketing of the NE horticulture products and crafts.
The Ministry
has collaborated with the J. C. Bose Science Talent Search programme
for inculcating and promoting scientific temper among the students
of the Region.
A newsletter “Doner Newsline”
was launched on June 18,
2004, to focus on the development initiatives of the Ministry in
the NER, besides highlighting efforts of other Ministries of the
Government of India in this regard. It also provides information
on important events in the Region.
Support for Industrial Development
in the NE
The North East Development Financial Corporation (NEDFC),
an institute under the control of the Ministry, has been provided
interest free loan for assisting industrial development in the Region.
During the last two there were significant improvements in the performance
of NEDFC. During this period, 523 units were assisted with a disbursement
of Rs.156.65 crore, apart from supporting a large number of SHGs.
The total employment generated as a result was about 96,000.
The NEC, under
its scheme for promotion of Industries in the North Eastern Region
(SPINE), has also supported 41 units during 2005-06.
Allocation by Central Ministries
for the NER
There has been
a significant increase in the allocation and expenditure of various
Central Ministries/Departments for the North Eastern Region during
the last two years. The allocation during 2006-07 has been kept
at Rs. 12,621 crore, an increase of about 86 per cent over Rs. 6,787
crore allocated during 2004-05.
Information Technology
A new project monitoring programme has been
developed with the technical assistance of the National Informatics
Centre (NIC) for monitoring of projects taken up under Non Lapsable
Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR), to monitor various aspects of
the projects under NLCPR. Similar mechanism is being established
for monitoring the projects of North Eastern Council (NEC).
A more informative
and exhaustive Website (http://www.mdoner.gov.in)
of the Ministry has been designed by the National Informatics Centre
(NIC), which was formally launched by Shri P.R. Kyndiah, Minister, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region on January 5, 2006. Work is in progress for developing
a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) system in the Ministry.
NIC has taken
the initiative to develop Intra DoNER portal to provide G2E services
(in respect of personnel matters of the employees) and G2G services
(for sharing of information between Government to Government).
Right to Information Act
The Ministry
and its various organisations have set up the requisite infrastructure
for the implementation of RIT, 2005. Most of the relevant information
pertaining to the Ministry is already being put on the website.
Public Information Officers have been appointed.
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