DoNER Ministry will work in close coordination with elected
representatives, says Minister
Nodal officers nominated for various NE states and Line
Ministries: DoNER Secretary
NEW DELHI, 27 JUNE 2019 – The Union Minister of State (Independent
Charge), Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra
Singh met the MPs of North East MPs Forum which included the newly
elected MPs from Lok Sabha representing North Eastern states and the members of
Rajya Sabha, here today. The purpose of the meeting was to brief the MPs about
the ongoing schemes and future plans of the Government in the region. The
Secretary (DoNER) Dr Inder Jit Singh, Secretary (North Eastern Council) Shri
Ram Muivah and other senior officers of the Ministry were present during the
meeting.
Welcoming the MPs, Dr
Jitendra Singh said that the Government will act for improving the lives of
North Eastern people in close coordination with the elected representatives
from the states of the region. He said that DoNER is the only region-based
ministry in the Government. In the past five years, the Government under the
leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given due priority to the
development of this region, he added. He said that the procedures laid down for
DPRs have been simplified so as to expedite the execution of projects in the
region and to curb the unnecessary delay. The Minister added that the Chief
Ministers and Resident Commissioners of different states based in Delhi have
been requested to coordinate with DoNER Ministry and follow up with the
officials about the development projects of various states.
He further said that
then issues related to enhancement of budgetary allocation for development of
North Eastern states are being discussed with the Finance Ministry. Dr
Jitendra Singh said that in departure from the earlier practice of 90:10
funding of Northeast projects under NLCPR flagship scheme of the Ministry,
implying 90% funds from Centre and 10% from the respective State, the Union
Cabinet has agreed that under the new scheme, North East Special Infrastructure
Development Scheme (NESIDS), the entire 100% of the funding is borne by the
Centre, which results in a huge relief to the exchequer of the State Government
and also puts an end to the frequent requests received from the State
Governments about lack of funds for them to contribute their share.
Speaking about another
historic decision by the Cabinet, the Minister mentioned about the Indian
Forest (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 to exempt bamboo grown in non-forest areas
from the definition “Tree”, thereby dispensing with the requirement of
obtaining a permit for felling of bamboo for economic use. He informed the
members that, in July, 2018, the NEC was restructured through the
nomination of the Home Minister as Chairman, NEC and the MoS (I/C) DoNER as the
Vice-Chairman, NEC. Dr Singh said that that Union Minister Shri Amit Shah
will chair the plenary session of NEC on 3rd and 4th August
in Guwahati.
While giving his
presentation about the functioning and role of DoNER Ministry, the
Secretary (DoNER) Dr Inder Jit Singh said that DoNER Ministry plays a
coordinating role to act as an interface between the NE states and Line
Ministries. He added that DoNER is the only Ministry with territorial
jurisdiction. He briefed that Chief Nodal Officers and Nodal officers have been
appointed for each of the North Eastern states and line ministries. He also
said that Inter-Ministerial committees have been constituted by DoNER Ministry
for important sectors such as Roads, Civil Aviation & Tourism, Livlihood,
Piggery, Medicinal & Aromatic Plants and Health & Nutrition.
The Secretary briefed
that members about the major schemes and organisations of North eastern
region such as North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS),
Hill Area Development Programme (HIDP), North East Road Sector Development
Scheme, North East Rural Livlihood Projects, North Eastern Region Community
Resources Management Project, North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing
Corporation Ltd., North East Handicrafts & Handlooms Development
Corporation Ltd. etc. He informed members that each non-exempted Ministry has
to allocate 10% of their Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for the development of
North Eastern states. He added that Rs 1,83,036 crore expenditure has been
incurred by the non-exempted ministries plus Railways during the last 5 years,
while the budget allocation for 2019-20 is Rs 56,530 cr.
In addition to the
above, A NITI Forum for North East has been set up in February, 2018. The first
meeting of the forum took place on 10th April, 2018 at Agartala
where constraints were identified for sustainable economic growth. The second
meeting held on 4th December, 2018 at Guwahati made
recommendations on the development of Bamboo, tea, dairy and tourism in North
East.
The MPs were briefed
about the North Eastern Council (NEC), which was established in the year
1971. Since its inception, NEC has focused on improving connectivity of
the region which has been a major bottleneck for all developmental activities.
In its endeavour, the Council has contributed immensely towards the improvement
of the inter-state connectivity in the Region. A total of 10,911 kms of roads
have been constructed with the NEC funding and handed over to the States for
maintenance. It has worked in the direction of setting up of eleven
Inter-State Bus terminal (ISBT) projects, power plants and contributed for the
up-gradation/strengthening of the infrastructure of the existing Airports in
the region.
During the interaction,
the MPs discussed development related issues pertaining to their areas. They
expressed pleasure at the fact that a Chief Nodal officer and a nodal officer
has been nominated by the DoNER Ministry for their states and they expressed
their wish to be briefed about the status of development projects of their
areas on a regular basis.
Following MPs from Lok
Sabha attended the meeting: Shri Tapir Gao (East Siang, Arunachal Pradesh),
Shri Kiren Rijiju (West Kameng, Arunachal), Shri Abdul Khaelque (Barpeta,
Assam), Shri Rameswar Teli (Dibrugarh, Assam), Shri Dilip Saikia (Mangaldoi,
Assam), Shri Gaurav Gogoi, (Kalibor, Assam), Shri Horen Sing Bey (Autonomous
District, Assam), Shri Topon Kumar Gogoi (Jorhat, Assam), Shri Naba Kumar
Sarania (Kokrajhar, Assam), Shri Kripanath Mallah (Karimganj, Assam), Shri
Pallab Lochan Das (Tezpur, Assam), Smt Queen Oja (Guwahati, Assam), Shri
Rajdeep Roy (Silchar, Assam), Shri Lorho S. Pfoze (Outer Manipur), Dr. Rajkumar
Ranjan Singh (Inner Manipur), Shri Vincent Pala (Shillong, Meghalaya), Ms.
Agatha K. Sangama (Tura, Meghalaya), C. Lalrosanga (Mizoram), Shri Tokheho
Yepthomi (Nagaland), Shri Indra Hang (Sikkim), Smt. Pratima Bhoumik (West
Tripura), Shri Rebati Tripura (East Tripura).
The MPs from Rajya
Sabha who attended the meeting were: Shri Mukut Mithi (Arunachal Pradesh), Shri
Bhubaneswar Kalita (Assam), Shri Birendra Prasad Bhaishya (Assam), Shri Ripun
Bora (Assam), Smt. Ranee Narah (Assam), Shri Kamakhya Tasha (Assam), Shri
Biswajit Daimary (Assam), Smt. Wansuk Syiem (Meghalaya), Shri Ronald Sapa Tlau (Mizoram), Shri K.G. Kenye (Nagaland),Shri Hishey
Lachungpa (Sikkim), Smt. Jharna Das Baidya (Tripura), Shri K. Bhabhananda Singh
(Manipur).
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