Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Feb 10: Speaking at the All India Conference of Governors being held at Rashtrapati Bhawan here, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh emphasized the importance of ensuring progressive development of North Eastern region and made a strong plea to stress the point that development of Northeast is imperative for success of Government of India’s “Act East Policy”.
In a lucid presentation aided by PowerPoint and titled “Act East Policy and Development of North Eastern Region” made in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee, Governors of all the States, Lt Governors and senior Union Ministers, Dr Jitendra Singh said, if we really want to be effective in engaging with the countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan through Act East Policy, we would first have to act effectively proximal to the eastern borders within the North Eastern region on our side, so that the level of development and infrastructure in this region is optimum for doing trade, business and other activities across the border.
The North Eastern region, Dr Jitendra Singh said, has a long border of more than 5000 kms, which it shares with as many as five countries, including China, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Bhutan. In the times to come, when we deal with all these countries through the Ministry of External Affairs, it will be essential to provide logistic support for connectivity, commerce and ease of custom and for this, Ministry of DoNER is gearing up to contribute its share of cooperation, he added.
Referring to some of the recent initiatives by Ministry of DoNER which would go a long way in supplementing Act East Policy, Dr Jitendra Singh referred to the recent establishment of the first ever Northeast Road Development Scheme which would undertake the construction of unowned roads, popularly referred to as “orphan roads”. He also disclosed that the DoNER Ministry will also contribute in the construction of Rail link from Tripura to Bangladesh and informed that a part of the rail link on the Indian side will be constructed by DoNER from DoNER budget, while the rail track on the other side of the Indian Border will be constructed through the Ministry of External Affairs.
Dr Jitendra Singh reiterated that once the constraints of connectivity through air and other modes are overcome and the unexplored potentials of trade are realized, Northeast will become a hub of trade and business, not only for India, but for the entire eastern region. The future therefore is looking forward to a new sunrise heralding the onset of “Act East” era through the doorstep of Northeast.
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