Cover Story Vol. 3 Issue No. 57

July 1-15, 2009

Upgrading northeast’s infrastructure a priority’

The ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has given priority to upgrading connectivity and infrastructure in the north-eastern states and earmarked Rs.500 crore for it this fiscal, said Bijoy Krishna Handique, minister in charge of the region. “Under the Northeast Vision 2020, the ministry of development of north eastern region (DoNER) has chalked out a 100-day plan,” Handique said while addressing the meeting of northeast chief ministers.
“Implementation of developmental projects in the region is very important for all of us.. Close coordination and joint efforts between the centre and all the eight states of the region are extremely important to realise the fruits of development,” he added. Out of the eight north-eastern states, chief ministers of only four - Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya - attended the meeting. The other states - Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim - were represented by senior ministers.
“Under New Delhi’s ‘Look East Policy’, the DoNER ministry is making efforts to showcase the strengths of the north-eastern region to the neighbouring countries to attract foreign investment, set up new industries, boost tourism and expand trade and business,” Handique said. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said the region had for long been perceived as backward. “But the people of the north-east are second to none in their capacity to work hard,” he said.
“Restoration of rail and road transit through Bangladesh is a long standing demand of the people of the land-locked region. India should pursue the matter with Bangladesh government more vigorously,” Sarkar told the meeting. Seven of the eight north-eastern states are surrounded by Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and China on three sides. These states can only be accessed through Assam, but the roads pass through steep hilly terrain and have multiple hairpin bends. If Dhaka provides land and water transit facilities to New Delhi, it would facilitate transport of goods from the rest of the country to the region through Bangladesh.

DoNER spells out its 100-day agenda

The Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Ministry was set up as a Department on September 5, 2001 and was again upgraded as a full-fledged Ministry on April 27, 2004 to sharpen its focus on the development of the North-eastern region, stated a press release.

The major functions of the DoNER ministry include matters related to the planning, execution and monitoring of development schemes and projects of the NER including those in the Power, Irrigation, Roads and Communications sectors. The DoNER ministry is also mandated to coordinate with various Ministries/Departments primarily concerned with the development and welfare activities in the NER. The important areas which have been identified for initiation of action for development of NER during the first 100 days are–– to have non-lapsable Central pool of resources. Under the existing procedure, processing of projects and proposals, preparation of DPRs and sanctioning of projects take considerable time. Therefore, the existing guidelines for sanctioning these projects are being revised so that new projects could be sanctioned within 45 days of the submission of the DPRs.

Another area for development is to enhance the connectivity of NER which is the main reason for the backwardness of the region with the main land. As a part of the NE Vision 2020, preparatory work for the master plans of connectivity for the NE Region was initiated. Therefore, a master plan would be prepared by the ministry within 100 days for enhancing connectivity of roads, railways, airways, waterways and telecommunication..

During his Budget Speech for the year 2008-09, the Finance Minister made provisions of Rs 500 crore for implementing specific infrastructure developmental projects in the NER. Selection of projects and preparation of DPRs would be completed covering all eight NE States within the first 100 days.

North Eastern Council and Ministry of DoNER had prepared The NER Vision 2020 for the speedy development of the NER. For implementing the recommendations contained in the Vision document, various Thematic Groups were constituted for preparing specific plan of action.

It is endeavoured to complete the plan of action for all sectors. Implementation of the North East Region Community Resource Management Project (NERCROMP) enhanced the earning capacity of the people in the specified areas where it was implemented. The scope of the project would be expanded to cover more villages in the existing districts and additional districts by associating Public Sector Undertakings of the Ministry like NEHHDC, NERAMAC and NEDFi.

North Eastern Livelihood Promotion Society has already been registered for implementing the North Eastern Rural Livelihood Project funded by World Bank.

The Look East Policy (LEP) under the 100 days agenda will make efforts to showcase the strength of North Eastern Region to the neighbouring countries to attract foreign investment for setting up new industries, to boost tourism and for expanding trade.

Also, 50 non-exempted Central Ministries/departments are earmarking 10 per cent of their Gross Budgetary support for NER. The North Eastern Development Finance Corp Ltd (NEDFi) would enhance disbursement of loans to the extent of Rs 100 crore during the current year. The North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation Ltd (NEHHDC) would submit a package for restructuring and revival of the Corporation and the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd (NERAMAC) will be prepared for enhancing the capacity of the Corporation to procure fresh produces.

NE fund flow to be enhanced: Centre

Assuring that the flow of funds to the northeastern states would be enhanced and routed expeditiously, the Centre today said the guidelines for implementation of Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) would be simplified. Addressing a meeting of chief ministers of the region at the North Eastern Council (NEC) Secretariat here, Minister for Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER) B K Handique said said the states are working according to a 100-days agenda for improving their functioning.
This entails steps to increase connectivity to and within the northeast region according to the broad roadmaps given in the NE Vision 2020, selection of projects and finalisation of DPRs for the states out of the Rs 500 crore allotted in the 2008-09 Union budget. Other measures include implementation of North-Eastern Rural Livelihood Project funded by the World Bank, expansion of North East Region Community Resource Management Project to cover more villages and other activities including continued efforts of Look East Policy, more equitable role for North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) in all NE states, the minister said.
Informing that Rs 5400 crore had been released by DoNER to the region since 1996, out of which Rs 4400 crore has been utilised so far. Adding that there was no official information as yet on the utilisation of the remaining Rs 1000 crore, he urged the Chief Ministers of the region to follow a time-bound approach in completing the projects. Stating that he was scouting for new ideas to show quick results on the ground, the new DoNER minister said the recent success story of such idea was the relaxation of LTC rules for government employees to travel to North-East by air. “About 4.5 lakh employees including their family members have traveled to NE region during the last one year giving impetus to tourism sector,” he said. Emphasising on the youth development, he said he wanted to create a knowledge society in the region as an integral part of NE Vision 2020.

Rio rallies NE CMs to common problems

Speaking before an audience consisting of Union Minister for DoNER, B.K. Handique and the Chief Ministers of North Eastern States, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio appealed that it was ‘imperative’ for all the States of the NE region to come together and help each other in resolving the problems that confront the region. “Instead of blaming each other, ideas could be exchanged and experiences shared to help expedite the peace process that has been initiated in Nagaland and through it, find solutions to the problems faced by the other states”, Rio stated in his address on Wednesday at Shillong. Rio also suggested that the DoNER Minister, who is from the region, could use his good offices to be a spokesman for the people of the region and to urge for early solution to the various problems of the region. “I also call on the central leadership to take all possible measures to bring about a speedy solution to the decades old insurgency which is becoming a major stumbling block for the prosperity of our people and an impediment for our overall growth”, Rio stated.
The Nagaland CM also raised the issue of problems confronting the region as a whole. “Lack of infrastructure, the distance from the mainland economy, the land locked geographical location and the difficult terrain are recognized as the basic problems for development of the North East”, Rio mentioned while adding that the problems are however, not insurmountable and the recent release of the document “North Eastern Region Vision 2020’ by none else than the Prime Minister of India gave hope that the region will see speedy development and bring the economy at par with the rest of the country and the world.
Rio also urged the present DoNER Minister to continue with the attempt to define more clearly the Look East Policy of India and to concretize this policy in the context of the NE Region of India through strengthening our links with neighbouring countries especially ASEAN countries and also China, Korea and Japan.
Pointing out that the security situation of States play a vital role, Rio informed that Nagaland has adopted the theme “Peace for Development and Development for Peace’ for a variety of reasons. “Lack of economic opportunities is the basic reason why the young people are exposed to an atmosphere of a ‘guns culture’. The long-term effects of these and other negative influences are detrimental to the entire society of the NE region, and needs to be addressed with all seriousness”, Rio stated while reminding that they are also not State specific issues anymore but “becoming inter State problems”. The plight of Zeme Nagas in North Cachar Hills for instance, is one of the most recent developments that is a matter of great concern for both Nagaland and Assam, Rio informed the gathering.
Rio was also hopeful that both DoNER and the NEC would endeavour towards speedy economic development of the region with adequate monetary support. Rio termed as unfortunate that the budgets of the NEC and even funds under the NLCPR are inadequate to fulfill “our needs and aspirations”. This issue has been discussed at several meetings of the NEC but till today there is no satisfying response from the central government, Rio stated
It was also pointed out that for development, it was equally important to tap not only domestic resources of funding available from G.O.I but also from established international financial institutions. Rio informed that the ADB funded projects for Nagaland is not materializing despite efforts to comply with all their requirements. Rio suggested that perhaps DoNER could make more efforts both with the DEA as also with the ADB for expediting the projects. While giving his views and comments on the draft guidelines on NLCPR, the Nagaland CM reminded that most of the economies of the north eastern states are totally dependent on agriculture. Stating that in Nagaland, more than 80% of its population depends on the agricultural economy, Rio called on the DoNER to also look into ways and means to bolster this important primary sector. “This will be increasingly more important as issues of climate change will soon affect our food security”, Rio stated while informing that the situation in Nagaland was very grim this year. “Our State is witnessing 60% deficiency in this year’s monsoon.. Since this appears to be regional phenomenon, it will perhaps be incumbent on DONER to take this issue seriously”, Rio stated..

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