Excelsior Correspondent
SHILLONG, May 26: On the first day of his three-day tour of North-East commemorating the completion of one year of Narendra Modi Government, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances,Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today inaugurated an exhibition titled “Saal Ek, Shuruaat Anek” depicting achievements of one year of Modi government, held a meeting with Chief Minister of Meghalaya Dr Mukul Sangma, addressed a Press Conference and presided over a meeting of BJP workers.
During his meeting with CM Meghalaya, Dr Jitendra Singh said, Northeast is high on the priority of the present Government and an essential component of Prime Minister’s India Vision. He said, it is an irony that Shillong does not have direct air connection with Delhi, in spite of the fact that it has been the most prominent destination in the Northeast ever since the British rule and was also the capital of erstwhile State of Assam. Dr. Jitendra Singh assured the CM that he will take up the issue with Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju and try to upgrade the airport for more frequent and bigger flights. Meanwhile, he recalled that a direct daily flight from Delhi to Dimapur, Nagaland had been started from April 15 with the help of Indigo and an effort is also being made to start a weekly or biweekly flight from Delhi to Aizawl, Mizoram.
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma pointed out to the requirement for better road network in view of frequent landslides in the State. In response, Dr Jitendra Singh referred to an exclusive Northeast Road Corporation which is being envisaged to address the peculiar condition of road construction in the region and said, the government is also aware of the loss of life caused due to inadequate widening of the road and frequent landslides which sometimes also offer an opportunity for militant activities.
Speaking to media persons, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the concept paper for organic farming is already in circulation among the various Ministries and an attempt will be to bring it before the Cabinet at the earliest. This will be an important part of “Make in Northeast” mission under Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” plan, he added. While inaugurating exhibition on the occasion of completion of one year of Modi government, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, this is a true depiction of the government’s vision for Northeast and reiteration of the fact that this is one of the best times for Northeast to grow and develop because it has the advantage of unlimited support and patronage from none less than the Prime Minister of India.
Addressing the Party workers, Dr Jitendra Singh said, it is the responsibility of each one of us to act as a messenger of Modi and travel to every nook and corner of country in order to make people aware of a series of pro-poor and pro-farmer schemes launched by the present government. He said, certain schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana had not achieved expected targets in the beginning, but in the last two months, due to proactive participation of the BJP Karyakartas and with the help of bankers, these schemes have achieved almost 100% targets. Skill development programmes launched by the government will come as a big relief to the unemployed youth of Northeast and the social security schemes relating to insurance and pension will not only improve the social and economic status of people in the peripheral State, but also give them a feeling of belonging to the mainstream India. He told the BJP Karyakartas that they should take active participation in the “DoNER at Doorstep” experiment launched by his Ministry and try to offer inputs to the DoNER officers during their forthcoming Camp Secretariat for Meghalaya in Shillong.
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