Excelsior Correspondent
SHILLONG (MEGHALAYA), July 10: On the concluding day of the two-day Plenary Meeting of the North Eastern Council (NEC) here, both Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh who chaired the meeting and Union DoNER Minister Dr Jitendra Singh who co-chaired the meeting, reiterated Centre’s priority focus on Northeast.
While Rajnath Singh, in his concluding remarks called for building of a “New Northeast” as a part of “New India”, Dr Jitendra Singh in his introductory remarks earlier, drew the attention to the fact that ever since the formation of North Eastern Council around 45 years ago, this is for the first time that Home Minister of India has traveled all the way to Shillong and spent two days attending all the sessions of the Plenary, which is in itself indicative of the high priority that Northeast is receiving from the Modi Government, unlike ever in the past.
Rajnath Singh, in his address, called for a time-frame for “Act East” policy and a road-map to carry it forward effectively. He also emphasized the importance of sticking to timeline in completing the NEC projects.
Expressing satisfaction over remarkable improvement in security situation in Northeast, Rajnath Singh noted that security force casualties had reduced by 97% in Northeast. He also called for encouraging investments from outside and reassuring the potential investors about the safe security situation in the region.
Dr Jitendra Singh gave a brief account of the North Eastern Council hereafter being mandated to incorporate the functions of the Zonal Council for resolving inter-State disputes and other conflict situations. This, he said, will give North Eastern Council a more wholesome opportunity to deal with various situations in the region, particularly in the light of the fact that development and security situation are intricately linked to each other.
Dr Jitendra Singh also referred to the government’s decision to give a special impetus to Bamboo trade and entrepreneurship, and disclosed that an outlay of Rs.1,290 crore had been earmarked for National Bamboo Mission, which is significant from the point of view that Northeast has 60% of India’s bamboo stock. He said, the setting up an exclusive NITI Aayog Forum for Northeast and an exclusive “Northeast Tourism Development Council” will go a long way in generating avenues of livelihood and entrepreneurship in the region.
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