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Q. The North Eastern Region (NER) of India is rich in its reservoir of natural resources, but it hasn’t been able to tap its economic potential successfully. Can you elucidate the reasons and the measures adopted in the recent times to foster economic growth and development in the region?
 Despite being rich in natural resources with fertile land, rich forests, water resources and considerable mineral deposits, including hydrocarbons, development in the NER has lagged behind the rest of the country due to historical reasons. The partition of the country created problems of logistics and isolation, affecting economic growth.
The challenge of development of NER arising from its unique situation has been engaging the attention of the central leadership. Socio-economic development of the region has been accorded the highest priority. All the eight constituent states of NER are treated as Special Category States with 90% of their plan allocations being treated as grant. All Central Ministries, except those specifically exempted, are mandated to spend 10% of their plan budget for the NE States. In addition, projects of inter-state nature in the region are funded through North Eastern Council (NEC), which has a separate additional budget for the purpose.
Recently the Central Govern-ment has created a new Ministry for Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER) to further sharpen the focus for the development of the region. The Ministry of DoNER is primarily aiming at the upgradation of the socio-economic infrastructure in the NE States.
Q. Are you planning any employment generation or other assorted developmental schemes for the region’s tribal populace? Are any steps being taken to integrate these tribes into mainstream society?
This question pertains to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Ministry of DoNER does not have any schemes for employment generation. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is making all out efforts for the improvement of the overall socio-economic development of Scheduled Tribes. For this purpose, the Ministry is implementing a number of schemes. ‘Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Plan’ is one of the major schemes implemented by the Ministry, which is aimed at employment generation and creation of infrastructure incidental thereto, imparting of vocational training, upgrading the skills of the tribal youth and providing support for their MFP operations. During the current financial year 2005-06, the budget provision under the scheme of Special Central Assistance is to the tune of Rs. 497.00 crore for family/SHG/community based employment generation activities to raise socio-economic status of tribals. The scheme is implemented in 21 tribal sub-plan states, including the four North Eastern States, namely Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Sikkim.
Q. Do you think the region’s existing infrastructure is ready for industrial development? In what way can the union government help in promoting the spirit of entrepreneurship in the region, and are any steps being taken in that direction?
Lack of sound infrastructure had been an obstacle to investment, particularly private investment. This situation is being addressed through infrastructure projects taken up by Central Ministries and also through Ministry of DoNER’s schemes of non-lapsable central pool of resources. The Ministry is trying to bridge critical gaps in the infrastructure of the NE States through NLCPR and externally aided projects.
As far as industrial development is concerned, the government has formulated a North East Industrial Policy (NEIP), which provides several concessions to private entrepreneurs. A proposal to enhance these concessions is under consideration of the government. Coupled with the improved infrastructure, it is expected that the NEIP would act as a catalyst for attracting investment in the Region. The Ministry is also envisaging creation of a Project Development Fund in the spirit of Public-Private-Partnership.
Q. What are the myriad forms of tribal festivals that characterize this region? Are they being promoted for tourism?
This question pertains to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is operating a scheme of ‘Exchange of Visits by Tribals.’ The scheme was introduced in 2001-02, to enable ST people living below the poverty line to visit other parts of the country, for a period of 10-12 days. The Ministry bears the entire expenditure. The groups of about 10 members nominated by the concerned State Government/Union Territory would visit a region/State identified by the State/UT. Such visits by the tribals would enable them to improve their perspective and also help to create awareness about the developments taking place in the country.
The various socio-cultural aspects of the tribes have also been documented for wider dissemination and awareness amongst the public at large.
Q. The region is dotted with awesome yet relatively unexplored tourist delights but unfortunately people, by and large, are not much aware of it. How do you plan to market its significant tourism potential to domestic and inbound tourists that would eventually also give a big impetus to the economy?
A number of factors have affected tourist arrival in the NE despite the region’s natural beauty, diverse culture and other attractions. Lack of adequate infrastructure has been a major bottleneck. During the last few years, since the formation of Ministry of DoNER, considerable progress has been made in this regard. Lack of information and exaggerated security concerns also affect tourist arrivals. My Ministry has already made important endeavours in creating awareness by organizing business meets, expositions and seminars. The Ministry of Tourism is also making similar efforts. These measures will help attracting more and more domestic tourists towards the North Eastern Region. Besides, the increased cooperation with neighbouring countries would lead to significant arrival of international tourists.
Q. Are there any plans in the offing to improve connectivity between the region and the rest of the country, say in the form of enhanced rail/air connectivity or subsidized air fares?
The government is committed to providing connectivity in the region and this is a major focus area of NEC in the Tenth Plan. NEC has allocated Rs. 1447.32 crore for the transport sector out of its total budget of Rs. 3500 crore. We are going to complete all the ongoing Road Schemes and take up 20 new roads. We are also converting all the timber bridges on NEC roads into RCC/steel bridges. Four new inter-state bus terminuses are coming up at Dimapur, Guwahati, Silchar and Aizawl. All the North Eastern States will be connected to each other by air with Guwahati as the hub. Alliance Air has been given a financial package of Rs. 35 crore per annum, for the next five years. It has acquired four turbo prop 50 seater aircraft, which connect various cities in the region. 10 airports in the region have been taken up for improvement of existing facilities of which, 7 have been completed. The NEC is also exploring the setting up of a dedicated airline service for the region with private collaboration.
A Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the region is on the anvil. A number of important railway projects have been undertaken in the region by the Ministry of Railways. These include gauge conversion and Kumarghat-Agartala line.
Q. What are the modalities of the revitalization of the North Eastern Council (NEC)? How do you think that this association can act as a catalyst towards attaining sustained economic development of the region?
A committee was constituted for the revitalization of NEC. The recommendations of the committee have been implemented with the nomination of Minister, DoNER as the Chairman and nomination of three experts as members of NEC. The Prime Minister has set the tone for the reconstituted NEC while addressing its first Meeting on 12 April 2005. He called upon the Council to focus on the twin issues of development and security. He desired that the income level of rural families have to be substantially enhanced by harnessing the vast potential of the region in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, medicinal and aromatic herbs, bamboo, water resources, power resources, minerals, etc.
A committee has been appointed by NEC to draw up a blue print for formulation of a comprehensive time bound Road Map for speedy socio-economic upliftment of NER. The ‘North East Vision-2020’ document is being prepared, taking into account the heightened consciousness of the people in NER, their aspirations, needs and sensitivities. It would encompass all the key sectors of the economy and the vast resource potential of the region.
Q. What concrete steps have been taken in the recent past to tackle insurgency operations that have had a detrimental effect on the socio-economic atmospherics for quite some time?
The Common Minimum Programme clearly spells out that our government is determined to tackle terrorism, militancy and insurgency in the North East as a matter of urgent national priority. Now, with the renewed developmental effort that Ministry of DoNER is making, along with other agencies, we expect significant improvements on this front.
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