Prez sees NE growth potential after security ‘improves’
NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday the overall security in the North East has improved and that the Centre is ending the isolation by opening up the land-locked region through massive rail and road projects.
Delivering his customary address to the joint session of Parliament heralding the Budget session, Mukherjee said the Government’s infrastructure projects will also bring economic prosperity to the backward states. “My government sees the northeastern states as Ashtalakshmi that can take India to new heights,” he added.
The security situation in the North East has “also shown significant improvement”. “From highways to i-ways, from railways to waterways, from seaports to airports, from water pipelines to gas pipelines, from earth sciences to satellites, from rural infrastructure to smart cities, creation of vital next-generation infrastructure has received special attention of my government,” he said.
The North East is the gateway to Southeast Asia and the Government is opening up road and rail routes to our neighbouring countries to boost the economic development of the region, the President said.
Dubbing that development of all the regions is vital to India’s progress, he said under its proactive ‘Act East’ policy, the Centre is focusing on reducing the isolation of the region by improving connectivity through road, rail, air, telecom, power and waterways.
Giving the example of railways, Mukherjee said the Centre is taking special initiatives to develop the North East region, including by developing railway projects worth Rs 10,000 crore.
“Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya have been put on the rail map, Agartala in Tripura has been connected with broad-gauge line,” he added.
Highlighting various steps taken by the government to uplift the region, he said the North East BPO promotion scheme in the Digital India programme for creation of employment opportunities has already been approved.
The president said the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited and Numaligarh Refinery Limited wax unit are big projects that will create huge employment opportunities in the North East.
Paying special attention to the region’s natural landscape, President Mukherjee said, “The beauty and diversity of the North East makes it a natural hub for tourism. The Ministry of Tourism has identified a thematic circuit for the North East,” he said.