Correspondent
SHILLONG, JUN 4: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday urged the North Eastern states to fully utilise all budgetary provisions available under various parameters and work towards achieving 100% implementation of the recommendations contained in the report submitted by the High-Level Task Force on the development, prosperity and preservation of the cultural identity of the region.
Addressing the 73rd plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC), of which he is chairman, Shah said future priorities of the region should be shaped on the basis of the task force report.
He said all eight North Eastern states could benefit from the establishment of ancillary industries linked to major industrial investments through Rising North East Investment Summit, particularly by locating such units in smaller states of the region.
Shah noted that the North East has attracted investments worth around Rs 4.25 lakh crore, apart from commitments made during Assam’s Investment Summit. He highlighted major projects such as the semiconductor plant in Assam, the development of the North East as a healthcare hub and the Namrup Ammonia-Urea Complex as key drivers of regional growth.
Shah stressed that the Single Window Clearance mechanism should be reviewed monthly by chief ministers and governors and called for timely completion of multimodal logistics hubs in Guwahati, Imphal and Agartala.
He further urged all North Eastern states to become self-reliant in fish, egg and milk production. Shah said the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), in collaboration with the Ministry of Cooperation, has set a target of supplying over 50,000 milch animals annually to the region from the next financial year while creating a strong cooperative framework for milk collection and marketing.
Shah emphasised infrastructure connectivity, planned urbanisation and development of 15 high-potential sectors as priority areas. He also highlighted the Sabroom Land Port as a major gateway for trade and said the North East was now ready to expand economic engagement with Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region.
He informed that under the PM-DevINE scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved cluster projects worth Rs 65 crore in Assam and Tripura. He also pointed out that around 215 products from the region were potential contenders for Geographical Indication (GI) tags and urged states to establish dedicated task forces to facilitate the process.
Addressing reporters after the plenary session, Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said Shah had laid down a roadmap for the NEC and the eight states for the next 12 months.
Scindia said the North Eastern states were progressing from strength to strength under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and would become the “Ashta Lakshmi” of India as the country moved towards Viksit Bharat.