Confederation of Nagaland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CNCCI) has raised several pertinent issues concerning Nagaland viz. Naga political issue, road and rail connectivity, power etc. in a representation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a representation to Modi, CNCCI chairman Dr Khekugha Muru and general secretary Dr Seyievilie Mor said that CNCCI, as the state apex business body representing all district chambers of commerce and industry, appealed to the Prime Minister to resolve the Indo-Naga political issue without further delay as the business community and the youth of Nagaland yearned to progress with rest of the country.
Stating that the people and the business community of Nagaland were thankful to PM for his relentless efforts to resolve the long-pending Naga issue, CNCCI pointed out that the elusive Naga solution had deeply impacted the economic progress of the state, apart from creating untold hardships and difficulties for the business community.
They asserted that it had also affected the outlook of the entire region in term of economic development as the outside world viewed the region as one, thereby inferring it to be non-conducive for any tangible investment or a viable business destination.
Railways: The trade body also lamented that while the entire nation was taking pride with Vande Bharat train, Nagaland with only one railway station in Dimapur and the second highest revenue generating station under Northeast Frontier Railway, was yet to be connected by the train.
Acknowledging that under his leadership electrification of railway tracks had reached Dimapur, CNCCI requested Modi to extend Vande Bharat to Dimapur from Guwahati. They said that introduction of such a train would help alleviate the comfort of travellers, support the tourism sector, facilitate more ease of doing business and economic growth, and further bridge the remoteness of Nagaland from rest of the nation.
Road: Flagging the issue of road connectivity, CNCCI urged Prime Minister to ensure that the remaining 27-km stretch of Asian Highway between Kohima and Mao gate (Manipur) was taken up with urgency and completed, making the highway truly worth its name, ambition and vision to connect the South East Asian countries through North Eastern states under the visionary Act East Policy.
CNCCI acknowledged that the long dream of India being connected to South East Asian countries through the North Eastern states by road through Asian Highway in consonance with the Act East Policy with four-lane road for seamless flow of traffic especially for the trailers, trucks and cargo, had almost been fulfilled. Unfortunately, they regretted that the 27-km stretch remained to be constructed and was now becoming a bottleneck for the movement of traffic and logistics at sizable volumes.
CNCCI also requested Modi to help make the Foothill Road a reality by constructing a four-lane road. They reminded Modi that the ambitious 395-km road stretching across eight districts of the state was initially funded under Special Plan Assistance (SPA) of the Planning Commission. However, with the establishment of NITI Aayog, they said that funding was discontinued and the project was taken up by the state government, considering the economic importance of a road that had the potential to change the economic landscape of Nagaland.
However, as Nagaland was a resource-crunch state and the project was yet to materialise, they requested Modi to help make the road a reality to give a huge economic dividend to the state.
Power: CNCCI also requested Modi to take all necessary initiatives to install at least a 1,000-MW power project in Nagaland by utilising the abundant renewable energy the state was blessed with.
The trade body said they were fully convinced that such a step would not only usher in rapid economic development of the state, but also improve its fiscal condition through revenue generation.
CNCCI pointed out that Nagaland, which had completed 60 years of statehood, was the lowest generator of electricity in the country and was majorly depended on other states despite having an estimated renewable energy potential of 8,9354.18 MW as per Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
They said that the erratic power supply due to its meagre power generation capacity compared to the demand had always been one of the major reasons for lack of development of industry and business in Nagaland, with even the existing businesses and MSMEs suffering and struggling to stay afloat, facing huge losses due to electricity shortage. No worthwhile economic development could happen without proper supply of power, it added.
Warehouse: Further, requesting setting up of modern warehousing, cold storages and amenity facility zones in the plains adjacent to Dimapur for carry and forward, storage, sorting and dispatch, CNCCI stressed that such facilities should be equipped with the capacity to accommodate at least 1,000 trailers/trucks at any given point of time with adequate amenity facilities such as hotels, medical facilities, fuel depots, machinery and vehicles maintenance facility, shopping complex, etc.
As Dimapur was well connected by air, road and rail, they said such facilities would help in rapid economic development and employment generation in Nagaland. They mentioned that all these would not only boost the economy of Nagaland, but also enhance and encourage more interstate business within and outside the Northeast and boost trade with South East Asian countries through the Act East policy.