NE border trade
It augurs well that the high powered committee set up by the Government of India to promote development of trade and exports in the north-eastern States and Sikkim has recently reviewed the progress in this direction and decided to initiate further steps in this regard. Headed by Union Commerce Secretary Prabir Sengupta and comprising Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Joint Secretaries of Home, Finance, Surface Transport, Customs, etc. and Economic Adviser, Planning Commission and Executive Director, Railways, the committee interacted with concerned State Chief Secretaries and Commissioners and Secretaries of these States to consider the implementation of the measures in this regard and discussed the specific actions that could be taken to give a fillip to the exports from the region. The visit of the High Powered Committee followed the Prime Minister’s visit to the region in January, 2000 when an Action Plan for the development of the region was announced. The Committee is mandated to review and ensure implementation of the measures identified under the Prime Minister’s Action Plan as well as the recommendations emerging from the Task Force on Border Trade in North East set up by the Department of Commerce. The review of the implementation of the recommendations made by the Shukla Commission and questions emerging from the meeting of the Union Commerce Minister with the Chief Ministers of the North-Eastern region held in June, 1999 were also reviewed by the Committee. Setting up of an Export Development Fund with an initial corpus of Rs 5 crore as announced in the PM’s Action Plan for the NE region was highlighted by the Commerce Secretary who pointed out that the EDF would be continued as a Plan scheme and augmented in future years. This Fund will support projects (excluding those for development of infrastructure) aimed at direct or indirect development/promotion of exports from the region and all agencies including NGOs will be eligible for assistance.

Additional Land Customs Stations on the international borders in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur in a phased manner, inclusion of ten more items in the list of items to be permitted for import from Myanmar through Moreh on concessional duty basis, a customs clearance facility at Imphal for the Moreh-bound goods, vehicles, import of 50 thousand tonnes of rice from Myanmar through Moreh and infrastructure upgradation at Moreh for the purpose. Assistance to the State Governments will be provided to create necessary infrastructure whereever required.

The Assam Government’s request for inclusion of Badarpur in the Barak Valley in the approved list of ports of call under the inland waterways arrangements with Bangladesh has been accepted by the Committee which further decided on the opening of the Karnaphuli trade route on Indo-Bangla border and additional routes on Indo-Myanmar border...

The Assam Tribune

Airport antics
Theoretically everyone is equal in a democracy. However, in the type practised in India, the egalitarianism of Orwell’s Animal Farm prevails, some being more equal than others. Only this can explain the repeated assaults on individual freedom in the name of VIP security. For instance, on the morning of Sunday, October 1, vehicular parking was disallowed at a number of roads, including arterial ones such a MG Road. Traffic policemen, not noted for their tact or courtesy, curtly told befuddled motorists to either move on, or park their cars on side-roads. Apparently Prafulla Mahanta, the Chief Minister of Assam, was to pass by and they had been instructed to keep the roads free of parked cars! Those responsible for giving such asinine instructions were clearly indifferent to the inconvenience caused to so many citizens for the sake of one individual. This was no isolated incident. In fact, security to the Chief Minister is increasingly becoming a thorn in the flesh of the common man! Vehicular traffic is stopped for hours together on the National Highway so that his convoy can pass. Entire segments of small towns are virtually sealed off so that he can be made ‘secure’. If importance is to be measured by the amount of harassment caused to the man of the street, surely the CM is the most equal among equals in the State!
 Thus, when the CM’s wife gets dose of the same medicine which is periodically thrust down the throats of the common citizen by an unconcerned administration, one cannot help but sympathise with her. It may be recalled that some time back Jayashree Mahanta, despite being Prafulla Mahanta’s wife and a Rajya Sahba member to boot, was prevented from boarding an aircraft along with her husband at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi airport. Though one need not go into the pros and cons of the affair, the bald truth is that the airport security personnel went by the book. Entitled as he is to the highest category security cover, rules stipulate that Prafulla Mahanta board the aircraft alone. And board it alone he did, while his better half cooled her heels on the tarmac!

The Assam Tribune