From Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi: Centre will send special chartered cargo flights to the Northeastern states carrying essential commodities, Union Minister of State (I/C) Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Dr Jitendra Singh said on Friday.
The minister said that designated cargo flights for carrying essential commodities to North East have been planned. Secretary, Northeastern Council, has been asked to assess the present need of essential commodities in Northeastern states.
There were reports of shortage of essential commodities in the landlocked region since all sorts of transport have been stopped. It was also decided that the Ministry would provide extra Rs 25 crore to the states in the region for gap-funding to fight the COVID-19 outbreak effectively.
This fund would be in the nature of untied fund, which can be utilised on any activity relating to COVID-19 pandemic, and not covered under existing central packages. The flexibility of untied funds would enable the states to respond quickly.
Singh held a detailed review meeting via a video conference, with the officers of Ministry of DoNER and North Eastern Council (NEC) reviewing the situation in the region. The meeting was attended by Secretary Ministry of DoNER, Secretary NEC and other senior officers.