Centre injects ₹1,500-cr in infra projects in NE

The Central government has given a big push to the progress of the North-Eastern states by allocating ₹1,500 crore for their diverse range of infrastructural and social projects which have huge prospects of job generation for the locals. The emphasis is on improving physical infrastructure like road, rail, air and inland waterways connectivity to bring about all-round developments to the villages of the North-Eastern states. The PM Development Initiative for the region is aimed at promoting growth in the region.

FM in her Budget speech informed that villages on the northern border of the country will be covered under a new vibrant village program to bring about a qualitative change in the lives of the masses in the region. Under the PM Gati Shakti Framework plan, border villages with sparse populations would be aligned and developed. Several development activities would be carried out including construction of village infrastructure, housing, tourist centers, road connectivity, provisioning of decentralized renewable energy, direct-to-home access for educational channels and DD, employment generation activities, etc. Additional funding for these developmental activities in such villages and regions will also be provided and existing schemes will be converged to give better results. The PM-DevINE plan would be implemented through the North-Eastern Council to make it more relevant and empowered. An initial list of projects under PM DevINE would be – the establishment of dedicated services for the management of pediatric and adult hematolymphoid cancers in North-East India, Guwahati (Multi-State) with ₹129 crore, NECTAR Livelihood Improvement Project (MultiState) with ₹67 crore, promoting scientific organic agriculture in North-Eastern states (Multi-State) with ₹45 crore, construction of Aizawl By-pass on the western side with ₹500 crore, gap funding for Passenger Ropeway system for Pelling to Sanga-Choeling in West Sikkim with ₹64 crore, among others.