Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Sept 5: BJP National President Amit Shah today convened a meeting of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) which was attended, among others, by DoNER Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, two Union Ministers from Northeast Kiren Rijiju and Rajen Gohain, five Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled North-Eastern States, namely Sarbananda Sonowal of Assam, Pema Khandu of Arunachal Pradesh, Biren Singh of Manipur, T.R. Zeliang of Nagaland and Pawan Chamling of Sikkim.
BJP National General Secretary (Orgn) Ramlal and National General Secretary Ram Madhav were also present. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chairman, NEDA and Finance Minister of Assam conducted the proceedings.
In his inaugural address, Amit Shah said, NEDA is not merely a political platform but also a means to bring about social, cultural and harmonious development of the entire region of Northeast as well as among the eight different States of the region. He said, at the time of the last conclave of North East Democratic Alliance held in February 2016, only three out of eight States had a BJP government, whereas within one year today, there is a BJP or BJP-supported government in five out of the eight North Eastern States. He expressed the confidence that by the time NEDA holds its next conclave, all the eight States of Northeast will have a BJP Government.
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the priority given to the development of Northeast, Amit Shah said, the development taken place in the last three years is much more than the entire development that took place in the last over six decades. He also appreciated the role of Ministry of DoNER in this regard.
Referring to several developmental activities and expansion of road and rail network, Amit Shah had a special word of praise for the initiative of “DoNER at Doorstep” undertaken by Ministry of DoNER, wherein the Secretariat officers of the Ministry set up a camp office every month by rotation in different States.
Dr Jitendra Singh presented a broad resume of fast track development and some of the first-of-its-kind initiatives undertaken in the Northeast. He said, the first-ever train to Bangladesh will take off from Tripura and the rail track up to the Indo-Bangladesh border will be funded by the Ministry of DoNER. Similarly, the Ministry of DoNER, he said will sponsor a study to go into the causes of frequent floods in the region and the means to prevent the same.
Referring to some of the recent major initiatives, Dr Jitendra Singh referred to the construction of Northeast Hostel in the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and acquisition of 3-acre land in Dwarka, Delhi to set up a Northeast Convention-cum-Cultural Centre. He said, another hostel for Northeast students is already under construction in the campus of Bangalore University.
A major achievement of the Ministry of DoNER, Dr Jitendra Singh said, is that the fund utilization has increased by over 67.2% in the last three years. This has been possible by simplifying the process of submitting DPRs directly, use of latest hi-tech methods in submitting responses to DPRs and preparation of Utilization Certificates (UCs) through Space Technology. He also referred to the North-East Industrial and Investment Policy (NEIPP) and “Venture Fund” for Startups.
Kiren Rijiju gave a brief resume of current security scenario in the region. Chief Ministers of different States, State BJP Presidents and Presidents of the Alliance Parties also spoke on the occasion.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
