Manmohan holds meeting with NE CMs on infrastructure development
New Delhi: With just few months to go for Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Monday cracked a whip by ordering constitution of a monitoring committee to study the major infrastructure projects which have missed targets and which are running at a huge loss in the landlocked Northeastern region.
Dr Singh directed the Planning Commission to constitute the Monitoring Committee with representatives from the Northeastern states to improve coordination among Central Ministries. The projects where 80 per cent of the work has been completed would be given top priority.
The Prime Minister issued this directive during his meeting with the chief minister of the region here on Monday.
Dr Singh said that the Centre views infrastructure development in the region as a key element in the strategy for developing the region and increasing connectivity with the rest of the country.
The meeting was organised by the Planning Commission which is the nodal agency initiating and monitoring developmental work in Northeast region.
Speaking at the meeting, Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma said that unlike the normal perception some of the projects in the region like the Shillong Bypass had been completed even before time. “Mendipathar rail line is another project which will be completed on time,” he said.
Dr Sangma demanded that in the field of medical education there is a need for more medical colleges in the region and increase in number of MBBS seats. He demanded for timely release of funds to the NE states which can help them develop and contribute to the national growth.
The meeting decided to complete seven national projects within 12th Plan period. They are the Tetelia- Byrnihat rail project (Meghalaya), Rangiya-Murkongselek (Assam), Lumding- Silchar Broad Gauge including branch lines (Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura), Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal (Manipur), Bogibeel bridge (Assam), Kumarghat-Agartala (Tripura) and Agartala-Subroom (Tripura).
The target date for completion of the Bogibeel Rail cum road bridge across Brahmaputra has been reset to December, 2016. While work on new broad gauge line from Dudhnoi to Mendipathar will be completed by March, 2014, bringing Meghalaya on the rail map of the country.
Additional funds of Rs 100 crore were provided in current year for Lumding – Silchar gauge conversion project for main and branch lines. Targeted date of completion is March 2015 for main line and June 2016 for the branch lines.
Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia made a detailed presentation on infrastructure development in the region and noted that continuous focus on the region has led to satisfactory results during the 11th Plan period.
The State Domestic Product growth in the region has been above the national average for the first time ever in the 11th Plan underscoring success of the initiatives and constant monitoring by the Planning Commission. The GSDP of North East region grew nearly 10% during the 11th Plan period from 2007-2012 compared to 8% for the country as a whole. This growth was supported by good agriculture sector performance including horticulture, floriculture, fisheries, rubber and oil palm production.
It was also noted by Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission that during the same period total Central Assistance including NCA, ACA, SCA and SPA had more than doubled to the region from Rs. 34764 crore during the 10th Plan to Rs. 73374 crore during the 11th Plan period. As a result, Plan Expenditure has grown significantly in all NE states as share of GSDP.
The Chief Ministers of the North-east had a busy day, as the Planning Commission organised another meeting in the afternoon on Universal Health. “Since the Chief Ministers were already here, we decided to hold another meeting to discuss about universal health,” Dr Ahluwalia said.
The Twelfth Plan initiated a major expansion in railway development in the region. There are 20 Railway projects under way of which 10 are national projects. Additional financial resources of Rs 314 crore were made available in the current year to allow completion of Rangiya-Rangpura (Tezpur), Rangpura- North Lakhimpur and North Lakhimpur- Murkongselek, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia said in his presentation.
The meeting also reviewed the execution of power projects in the NES. There is need for expeditious environmental and forest clearances and also land acquisition. Ministry of Environment has recently issued fresh guidelines which will help. The Cabinet Committee on Investment cleared the Dibang project recently, the meeting was told.
The meeting underlined the need to resolve the problems delaying the implementation of the Lower Subansiri hydro project. The project is facing some implementation problems which need early resolution. Ministry of Power and Government of Assam have scheduled a meeting in February, sources said.
The North-east currently has 4080 MW of generation capacity and another 6810 MW are under development. Untapped hydro potential is 55,561 MW and development of this potential would generate surplus power meeting the energy needs of the nation and also generating resources for the region, an official spokesman said.
On the road projects, the Chief Ministers were told that the East West Corridor in the North East is 500 km and an estimated 81 per cent of the work is complete and likely completion date is December 2014. The meeting noted that air connectivity has increased considerably and average departures per week have more than doubled from 226 in 2001 to 497 in 2012. However more needs to be done and is being planned, the Chief Ministers stressed.
Guwahati is being developed as a regional hub to improve connectivity, while several existing airports are being modernised including Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Shillong, Imphal and Agartala. New Airport at Itanagar is planned by State Government but it has to resolve land acquisition issues, approach road and electricity and water. It was also noted by Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission that during the same period total Central Assistance had more than doubled to the region from Rs. 34764 crore during the 10th Plan to Rs. 73374 crore during the 11th Plan period. As a result, Plan Expenditure has grown significantly in all North Easter States as share of GSDP.