State yet to achieve various phases of central funding
SHILLONG: At the two-day national seminar on the theme ‘25 Years of Economic Reforms in India and its Impact on North-East India,’ Governor of Meghalaya, V. Shanmuganathan stressed on the need to open up employment avenues and the benefit of technological advancement in the region.
Speaking at the inaugural session, he said, “North East India needs employment opportunities. Youths here can communicate in English very well and can well master technology.”
He urged the scholars and academicians present to make an impact assessment on the matter, by giving ideas and suggestions.
The workshop is to appraise how much has been achieved in India and the North East since the introduction of economic reforms in 1991.
Speaking to reporters after the end of the inaugural session, president of North East India Council for Social Science Research (NEICSSR), P.M. Passah said that one of the important aspects of the economic reforms is to reduce regional disparities between the North Eastern region and mainland India.
“North East India is connected by a chicken neck which must be widened if the it is to catch up with the rest of India and reach to the stature of the rest of the states. It must work on its infrastructure which includes transport and communication,” he said.
“We cannot deny that NE and all other states grow and we could see that growth rate is not less in comparison with other states. However, a lot needs to be done as well as to improve existing structures and the consent of the local people particularly in the tribal areas needs to be considered,” he said.
“If the respective state in the North east region welcomes investment, there is no dearth of it in NE but all types of investment has to be taken with the consent of the people,” he added.
In view of the financial difficulties faced by the people of the North East, he said that the North East states should fully utilize whatever investment or funds made available by the Central Government.
“Most of the time, North East states have not been able to utilize the funds provided by the Central government. For instance, the development of horticulture has been encouraged in the state of Meghalaya but the government has not achieved the various phases of funding prescribed by the Central Government,” he asserted.
When asked whether Information and Technology is feasible in a region known for his territorial constraints of connectivity, he pointed to the proposal of setting up an IT park which was planned since the year 2002.
“IT park was planned since late T.H. Rangad’s time (former MLA of Laban constituency), but till date there is no sign of it,” he stated.
It is learnt that North Eastern Region accounts for 3.77 per cent of the total GDP of the country.
He highlighted on the glaring problem of employment potential in the country and that agriculture which is known as the backbone of the Indian economy has been neglected in the economic reforms while much emphasis has been laid on industrial development.
Speaking on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), he said, “Our country needs to keep a watch on FDI as it is not dependable, it is volatile in nature although we do witness that FDI flows has picked up and has become dominant.”
