Manipur, Mizoram on broad-gauge rail map

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said it was a red-letter day for the history of Northeast

The Centre has earmarked Rs 30,000 crore for the Northeastern region in the current budget and most of this would go for development of rail, road, waterways and telecom connectivity in the region, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Shillong on Friday.

He was in this picturesque hill station, which is the capital of Meghalaya, to attend the 65th plenary session of Northeastern Council (NEC). Later he also attended a public meeting at Polo ground where he highlighted the achievements of his government in past two years.

He said it was the “endeavour” of the central government to ensure that the money was “spent well” for development of the region. NEC, set-up in 1972 through an act of Parliament, is the nodal agency for development of the Northeastern region.

At least Rs 10,000 crore would be spent in power transmission projects covering all the eight Northeastern states. “We are committed to provide 24X7 electricity to all households. Keeping this in mind, the Centre is making heavy investments in the region’s power sector,” said Modi.

Modi said the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), incorporated in July 2014 with the primary task of undertaking infrastructure projects in Northeast and border areas, was implementing 34 road projects in the region, covering a length of 1,000 km at a total cost of over Rs 10,000 crore.

In addition, the Centre has earmarked around Rs 5,300 crore for undertaking a comprehensive telecommunication plan for the region. Modi said Tripura’s capital Agartala has become the third internet gateway city in India after Chennai and Mumbai with connectivity with bandwidth connectivity with Cox Bazaar in Bangladesh. The Centre, the Prime Minister said, had approved Northeast BPO promotion scheme under the ‘Digital India’ programme for creation of employment opportunities in the region.

The Prime Minister also flagged-off, through video conferencing, two passenger trains between Silchar (Assam)-Jiribam (Manipur) and Silchar-Bhairabi (Mizoram) on the newly converted rail track, thus bringing the two remote Northeastern states on India’s broad gauge rail map. A long-distance train, connecting Kamakhya station in Guwahati with Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra station in the state of Jammu and Kashmir was also flagged off by him.

The Prime Minister said it was a red-letter day for the history of Northeast as broad gauge passenger train would now connect the states of Manipur and Mizoram. He also said the Centre was opening up road and rail links for “our neighbour countries” and that would help the Northeastern region grow economically.

The railways have undertaken a major expansion in the region at a cost of around Rs 10,000 crore, Modi said: “We are on the way to ensure that all the Northeastern states come on the rail map soon. In Northeast, the Indian Railways has commissioned about 900 km of broad gauge in the last two years, leaving only about 50 km meter gauge lines to be converted in FY17."

Modi also said the Northeastern region could become the “organic basket” for the country. “Other states can take a lead from Sikkim and the NEC can also play an important role in the development of organic farming in the region. Organic products are going to be increasingly used widely and if the NEC can assist the states in the region to take a lead in this area, it will contribute immensely to the income of the people and the region,” he said. Sikkim has already declared itself as an organic state.