‘Cong govt responsible for hampering Manipur’s devp’

Imphal: Union minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday held the Okram Ibobi  Singh-led Congress government in Manipur responsible for hampering the state’s development.
Addressing a series of election meetings at Kumbi and Ningthoukhong near here, Singh said the people of Manipur have suffered continuous stagnation, exploitation and corruption for a decade-and-a-half. “But, in the last two-and-a-half years, after the Narendra Modi government took over at the Centre, the people of the state have begun to realise how they are being constantly deprived of the benefits of good governance and healthy development,” he said.
Singh, the Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), accused the Okram Ibobi Singh government of stalling major initiatives from the Centre in the last two-and-a-half years.
He said that soon after the formation of the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the setting up of a Sports University in Manipur, so that the natural talent of the youths of the state for athletics and sports could be groomed in a more institutionalised manner.
However, in spite of two years of regular and rigorous follow up, the state government did not provide land for acquisition to the Union government simply because it did not want the youth of the state to get the benefit of the Modi reforms, the minister alleged.
Highlighting the special impetus given to the growth of developmental activities by the DoNER during the last two years, Singh cited figures to state that while the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) funding was only about Rs 45 crore in 2012-13 before the Modi government came in, in 2014-15, soon after the formation of the government under Prime Minister Modi, the same fund was instantly raised to Rs 115 crore.
Similarly, he said, North Eastern Council funding for Manipur for 2013-14, before the Modi Government came in, was Rs 85 crore, while in 2015-16, it went up to Rs 154 crore. (PTI)