SASEC road connectivity will make Northeast more accessible: Hardeep Singh Puri

Apr 30,2022

SASEC road connectivity will make Northeast more accessible: Hardeep Singh Puri

By
Bikash Singh
Last Updated: Apr 30, 2022, 08:51 PM IST

Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, said that the South Asian Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) road connectivity programme will also help in making the Northeast more connected and accessible to the rest of the country.

He said that a total of 523 projects worth Rs 13563 crores are in various stages of development in the 10 cities of the North East region and 121 projects worth Rs 1,553 crores had been completed with another 268 projects worth Rs. 8,507 crores under implementation.

Ministry of DoNER and Government of Sikkim in collaboration with North Eastern Council organized a symposium on "Urban Development in North Eastern States: Smart City Revolution " on Saturday here at Gangtok, Sikkim.

Detailing the unique characteristics of North Eastern states, he said that the region has a rich cultural legacy anchored in abundant natural resources, skilled and available human capital, tourism, and extraordinary biodiversity. By developing robust infrastructure and services over the last eight years, the massive potential of the region has finally been unlocked. With a growing number of food parks, textile industry, and information technology,  

North East has the potential to be the trade link between India and South East Asia in the years to come. He expressed his happiness to announce that the consensus to amend the funding pattern to 90:10, will ensure completion of many a project.
 
Union Minister told that the period of past five years especially, underpinned by the ‘Look and Act East Policy’ has been transformational. The BJP-led Government is committed to connect North East India through infrastructure and technology. The North Eastern states have become India’s areas of high growth that can fuel India’s push towards an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. Policies for the North East are planned and executed with razor-sharp precision prioritising the needs of the region, he added.

Puri said that the PM himself has visited the region more than 30 times, including a couple of days ago in Assam to inaugurate important healthcare projects to benefit the entire region. In the last eight years, a total of Rs.18,849 crore has been fully utilised for development projects in power, water supply, health, connectivity and education sectors. In the Budget 2022, the Finance Minister had announced a new scheme–Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North-East (PM-DevINE)to be implemented by the North Eastern Council. With an initial allocation of Rs.1500 crores, this scheme will fund infrastructure-guided by the PM Gati Shakti mission-and social development projects based on the felt needs of the North East.
He told that the Smart Cities Mission is one part of an integrated vision of urban transformation and modernisation in the country, including in the North East where rapid urbanisation is being witnessed. Other flagship programmes of the Government of India have also produced fundamental and sweeping changes in the urban areas of North Eastern India. Missions such as AMRUT, Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban (SBM-U) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Urban (PMAY-U) are vital interventions in establishing a high level of basic civic infrastructure in North Eastern cities. He congratulated Sikkim for being the first State in the region to implement OBPS in the region.

Ministry of DoNER and Government of Arunachal Pradesh in collaboration with North Eastern Council organized a penal discussion on "Welfare of Tribals and Border Management" on Saturday here in the DK Auditorium of Arunachal Legislative Assembly at Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.
Nitish Pramanik, Union Minister of State, Home Affairs while speaking on the occasion as Chief Guest expressed his pleasure to witness the unique ‘Synergy in Diversity’ of Arunachal Pradesh. Stressing upon the resolution of the Central Government in the development of Arunachal Pradesh, he said that socio-economic development of remote border regions in the state and welfare of local population hold prime importance.He, also, assured that issues and concerns of the state will be taken up at the Central level and projects envisaged for the state will be implemented with full rigour.
Chowna Mein, Deputy Chief Minister, Arunachal Pradesh mentioned that the welfare of tribals and development of border areas in Arunachal Pradesh go hand in hand. Stressing on ‘Our Culture, Our Pride’, emphasized on the role of research and documentation of rich culture of the State. He also highlighted the achievements of the State in the preservation of indigenous culture.
Bamang Felix, Minister Home and Border Management etc. spoke on the efforts taken by the State in development of the border areas and capacity building of border personnel. He also talked about achievements in improving Policing system. He stressed that more concerted efforts need to be taken to enhance financial resources of the state, with support from Central government.