DIMAPUR, JULY 9 (MExN): Nagaland Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio on Monday highlighted key issues of concern pertaining to the North East and Nagaland state to the Government of India (GoI) for consideration during the 67th Plenary of the North Eastern Council held at Shillong.
Addressing the Plenary, Rio suggested to the GoI that the budget of the NEC be redrawn and the funds allotted to the NEC be utilised basically for the NEC works and not for clearing the liabilities of the Governmental bodies and agencies of the region. He pointed out that there has been sufficient accumulation of funds under 10% due for allocation which may be allotted to the Ministry of DONER both for clearing of the liabilities and taking up new schemes.
Another challenge, Rio stated was the need for clarity on the roles between multiple bodies and agencies like the NEC, DoNER and the recently created North East Forum while at the same time, budgets need to be allocated to the States and flexibility allowed for the State governments for utilization of these allocations.
Strengthen infrastructure, connectivity of Nagaland
Dwelling on the infrastructure and connectivity of Nagaland state, Rio maintained that a land-locked state like Nagaland depends totally on road, air and rail connectivity and there is a need to strengthen the same to achieve physical integration with the mainland and give impetus to economic development.
One of the major challenges of road connectivity, Rio said was that Nagaland is marred with unstable soil condition; landslides and heavy rainfall aggravating damage to roads shortening its life span. Limited resources of the state compounds this problem, Rio stated while urging the Forum to address this problem by making a provision for maintenance of roads.
On air connectivity, tourism and sports
Rio also batted for early materialization of the airport project for the state capital Kohima for which the Government of Nagaland has acquired around 300 acres of land and the Airports Authority of India have made technical survey.
On the upgradation of the Dimapur Airport, Rio said this needs to be sanctioned on priority as the construction of new airport terminal at Dimapur has remained in the master plan for years now and is yet to be an approved project.
While air connectivity has improved across the country, Nagaland still has only two flights a day. There is no direct flight to Delhi and very often one-way fares to Delhi vary from Rs 15,000 to Rs 33,000. There is an urgent need to introduce more flights connecting Dimapur to Guwahati, Kolkata and Delhi, Rio said.
On tourism, Rio said the challenge lies in making the state accessible to the tourists from mainland India and other countries and suggested for promotion of private entrepreneurs in the field of hospitality and other tourism related activities for development of tourism in NE Region.
On sports, Rio said it was imperative that the Centre fund projects for sports infrastructure and game development initiatives. Also, the policy makers of the sports ministry should consider the fact that sports disciplines that are of potential to the mainland population may not be of potential scope in the region, he added.
The 67th Plenary was attended by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Chairman of NEC, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for DoNER and Vice Chairman of NEC, Governors and Chief Ministers of the North East States among others.
