No road blockades, curfew, firing in Northeast today, says DoNER minister

Our Reporter
Dimapur, March 16 (EMN): The Union Minister of Development of North East Region (DoNER), G Kishan Reddy, stated that insurgency-related incidents in the Northeast states had declined notably over the last few years with such cases declining from 824 in 2014 to 163 in 2020, resulting in a significant decline in death of civilians and security forces.

He stated this during the discussion on demand for grants for the Ministry of DoNER in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

He also pointed out that several historic agreements had been signed with rebel groups to restore peace and stability, along with grants of financial packages for their rehabilitation.

Noting the improvement in security, international and domestic business are now looking to take advantage of the untapped potential of the Northeast region for investments, he added.

Reddy further stated that peace and security are prerequisites for development, and “unlike in the past, today, there are no road blockades, curfew and firing in the Northeast”.

He stated that a new phase of peace and prosperity has begun in the Northeast region.

With several landmark initiatives being taken to improve the security situation and resultant stability in the region, massive infrastructural development and connectivity projects are being undertaken, he said.

He further mentioned that the budget for the region has been increased from INR 36,108 crore in 2014 to INR 76,040 crore in the financial year 2022-23, to accelerate the pace of development.

Speaking on the strides made towards enhancing road infrastructure, rail and air connectivity, he stated that massive efforts are being undertaken to develop rail connectivity to make the Northeast the growth engine of the country, stating that INR 39,000 crore was spent during 2014-2021 for improving rail connectivity.

He further mentioned that the government of India has spent INR 41,546 crore till date for roads and highways in the region, and spent INR 3466.10 crore over the last seven years under 10% GBS to enhance telecom connectivity in the region.

Reddy said that the Centre has worked on developing power infrastructure with expenditure in excess of INR 10,000 crore since 2014, which has worked in promoting electrical connectivity and facilitates industrialisation in the Northeast region.

He further informed the House that in the Health sector, the government has spent INR 25589.72 crore since 2014-15, including INR 548.32 crore by the Ministry of DoNER to develop health infrastructure and most recently to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. He also highlighted the upcoming AIIMS in Guwahati at an estimated cost of INR 1,123 crore, which is to be completed in 2022.