Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 16: Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, chaired a high level meeting here today to discuss security, development and other issues related to Northeast.
Dr Jitendra Singh,Union Minister for Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), Kiren Rijiju Union MoS Home, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other senior officers from Central Government as well as all the eight North-Eastern States attended the marathon meeting.
In his opening remarks, Rajnath Singh said that in the past few years, security situation has shown noticeable improvement in North-Eastern region. The militancy has almost come to an end, he said, except in few pockets, where also the militants are fast losing their support. He attributed this change in situation to effective counter-insurgency measures, responsive development orientation and better relations with the neighboring countries. He said, there is by and large normalcy in the region even though in certain areas incidents of extortion, kidnapping and abduction are reported from time to time.
Rajnath Singh referred to the government’s initiatives in developing road, rail, air, power and digital infrastructure in this region on fast track. He also emphasized on “Act East” policy and focus on South East Asian markets.
Rajnath Singh said that the human and natural resources of North-Eastern region are very rich. He said the potential is enormous and the only requirement is to maintain secure and peaceful environment.
Rajnath Singh emphasized the need to improve the rate of prosecution and conviction in criminal cases which he said, was not up to the mark in certain States. He also pointed out that kidnapping, abduction and extortion being more prevalent in certain parts of certain States. He said, even though large parts of North-Eastern are free from militancy, the presence of illegal arms continues to pose a threat. He said, barring the Siliguri corridor, all other sides of the North-Eastern region are touching the international border which are prone to smuggling of illegal arms, drugs, narcotics and fake Indian currency.
Referring to the North-East youth as aspirational and full of enthusiasm, Rajnath said all of us will have to ensure for a prosperous future for them.
Dr Jitendra Singh, while speaking at the meeting, observed that peace and development share a reciprocal relationship. He said, if development process is not maintained at optimum pace, it becomes difficult to sustain peace in disturbance prone areas, including Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir.
Dr Jitendra Singh referred to a number of steps taken by the Ministry of DoNER to expedite the procedure of processing the DPRs and UCs using hi-tech methods, portals and apps. However, he regretted that the State Governments were slow in submitting DPRs and also in responding to the regular correspondence. He appealed to the Chief Secretaries from different States to kindly cooperate and supplement the proactive approach adopted by the Ministry of DoNER in the last three years.
Citing specific examples, Dr Jitendra Singh regretted that the Government of India had proposed to set up a Sports University in Manipur, but the land acquisition process itself took nearly 3 years. Similarly, he pointed out that the much awaited airport at Sikkim should have been ready by now, but the State Government took unusually long time just to shift a couple of families from the airport vicinity to alternative accommodation. He also regretted that even though Shillong was the original capital of erstwhile Assam, the airport had not been upgraded all these years and said that now, the DoNER Ministry has earmarked funds for lengthening of the airstrip.
Dr Jitendra Singh reiterated high priority given to the development of Northeast by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of DoNER and appealed to the State Governments to make the best use of the focused concentration of the Central Government on development in these eight States.
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