From Our Special Correspondent
GUWAHATI: Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (in charge), Jitendra Singh chaired a meeting in New Delhi to review the progress of ongoing projects in the Northeast.
DoNER ministry secretary, Inderjit Singh and North Eastern Council secretary, Ram Muivah along with other officials of the ministry and NEC were present during the meeting on Monday, an official statement said.
The officials briefed the DoNER minister about the progress made on the ongoing projects apart from the upcoming initiatives to be implemented in the region.
Singh was also informed that an amount of Rs 11 crore has been released for the construction of a hostel for north-eastern students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi. The tendering by CPWD is in process.
This is the first of its kind hostel at JNU, which will have as many as 224 rooms and accommodate 424 students. Twenty four rooms have been assigned for Divyang (physically challenged) students. The remaining rooms will be occupied by equal number of boys and girls.
The four-storey hostel will be built in approximately one and a half acre area. The construction work will start in the coming weeks.
The minister was also informed that the hostel for northeastern girl students, inaugurated by the Prime Minister in Bengaluru recently, has also become functional.
In addition to these hostels, the land acquisition process has started for the Rohini hostel for north-eastern students studying in colleges and institutions related to Delhi University and Rs 2.5 crore has been released to the Delhi Development Authority. The hostel will be built in an area of about 5 acres.
The status of the North Eastern Cultural and Information Centre to be set up in Dwarka (New Delhi) was also discussed during the meeting. The estimated cost of the project is about Rs 50 crore.
The minister said the centre would act as a cultural and convention/information hub of the Northeast in Delhi. It will be constructed on a par with the international standards and will have a library-cum-reading room with material on the region and an art gallery showcasing the Northeast.
Singh said the development of north eastern region has been the priority for the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The government will make all efforts for implementation of the ongoing development projects in Northeast and will take measures to introduce new projects for the benefit of people,” he said.
He further said that ministers would soon visit the region to have first-hand knowledge of the ground realities.