Manmohan pledges Centre’s support to State’s Integrated River Basin Development and Livelihoods Programme
By Patricia Mukhim
Guwahati Airport: The Shillong Times Editor was one of 12 journalists and the only one from outside Assam who was invited for an informal interaction and tea with the Prime Minister at the New Conference Hall of the Air Traffic Control Building adjacent to the Guwahati Airport on Friday.
The dilemma a journalist faces is what questions to ask in an informal meet which is not a press conference where a scribe has a clear mandate to grill the Prime Minister of the country on a range of issues.
The Editor decided to play advocate for Meghalaya instead and raise issues relevant to the State.
The first question raised was regarding the North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) which the ST feels has the potential to serve the needs of the region but which has not taken off owing to the lack of vision of respective Directors whose tenures have been short-lived and stop gap.
The Prime Minister said he was informed that most doctors of eminence do not want to come to North East India.
To this the Editor replied that they would if the pay and perks were more attractive since few doctors from reputed institutes like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) would want to come to the region unless they were offered attractive perks.
Dr Manmohan Singh also made a commitment to speak to the Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad about this issue and to iron out the problems faced by NEIGRIHMS.
After having conducted a preliminary survey of the possible impact of the Integrated River Basin Development and Livelihoods Programme, the State initiated flagship programme, the ST felt that the programme has the potential to benefit a large section of rural households if implemented in the right spirit.
As an advocate and also an active critique of the programme the ST asked the Prime Minister to continue to support the programme.
To this the Prime Minister replied that if the programme is included in the 12th Plan then it will receive the unstinted support of the Union Government for the full five years.
The next question was about the Look East Policy (LEP) and whether it is of any relevance to the North East. To this the Prime Minister replied that the biggest hurdle to the LEP was Myanmar which had hitherto been ruled by the junta.
Dr Singh said India has been accused of not making enough efforts to promote democracy in Myanmar and that it was seen to be hobnobbing with the military regime. “But democracy is not something you can uproot from one place and plant in another place. It takes time and soft skills which India has used to bring about the new democratic regime in Myanmar. Let us hope that we can now actively pursue the Look East Policy more meaningfully,” the Prime Minister said.
On the issue of transit routes for trade through Bangladesh which would be a win-win situation for both India and Bangladesh, Dr Singh said he is aware that for most states of the north east like Meghalaya, looking south towards Bangladesh is more pragmatic than looking east towards Myanmar and beyond. “We are engaging with Bangladesh on the issue of transit trade routes and hope to resolve it soon,” the Prime Minister said.