SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has called for giving more autonomy and power to the North Eastern Council, which is the nodal agency for economic and social development in the region.
Talking to media persons after the NEC meeting here on Tuesday, Sangma said it is important that funding for the council goes up as its budgetary allocation is less.
When asked if the Centre’s decision on new schemes for the North East bypasses NEC’s plenary, he said there was nothing like “bypassing and the Cabinet has its own powers to take decision on matters”.
( “However, if there are differences, we will get it resolved,” he said and asserted that many concerns were sorted out and communication gaps bridged during the two-day plenary.
Sangma reiterated that the states should be given flexibility when it comes to North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme because the requirement of every state is different. “NESIDS (North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme) should not be so stringent in its guidelines.”
When asked if the Union Cabinet has underlined the autonomy of NEC by stopping several schemes, Sangma said some schemes were not matching the new guidelines and these schemes were required to be passed in the plenary of the NEC under the new guidelines.
