AGARTALA, Nov 15 : Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday said that the budgetary outlay for the northeast has been increased by more than four-fold during the Narendra Modi government’s regime as compared to the non-BJP dispensation.
He said only 10,000 km of highways were constructed in the northeast in 65 years since the country’s Independence, while 5,500 km were built during the 10 years of the NDA government at the Centre.
“The northeast used to receive budgetary outlay of Rs 24,000 crore ten years back, while the allocation for the region has been increased to Rs 1.03 lakh crore under the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. The increase is more than four-fold during the Narendra Modi-led government’s regime,” Scindia told reporters after a review meeting with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha at the Civil Secretariat here.
Only one state was connected with the railway before the BJP came to power in Delhi, while the Centre planned to extend the railway service to all the eight northeastern states by the next three to four years, he said.
“Altogether 19 railway projects to the tune of Rs 82,000 crore are under construction in the region”, he said.
The northeast also witnessed a sea change in the aviation sector during the NDA government’s regime as the number of airports increased from nine to 17, he said, adding that “Modi ji wants to transform the region as a growth engine in future”.
Scindia also praised the Tripura government for “speeding up” development activities in the state.
“The GSDP has been pegged at Rs 90,000 crore while the per capita income has also grown to Rs 1,60,000. The government wants to achieve 50 per cent industrial contribution to the state’s GSDP in future,” Scindia, the minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), said.
Asserting that Tripura has potential in many areas, Scindia said the Ministry of DoNER has chalked out a plan to attract investment for the northeastern states.
“There will be an investment summit in Delhi in March or April to attract investment for the region. This will be a historic business summit. Besides, five to six roadshows will be conducted in major cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Jaipur. A business summit held recently in Bengaluru bought an expression of interest of Rs 9,600 crore for the northeast”, he said.
Scindia, who also holds the communication portfolio, said BSNL has been working to increase 4G saturation capacity in the northeast.
“As part of the plan, as many as 119 towers will be set up in Tripura, and work for 90 of such installations have already been completed. An amount of Rs 500 crore will be invested in Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram to boost 4G service”, he added. (PTI)
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