NEW DELHI: The constant grumbling of the Northeastern states, about their perennial inability to pay even the matching grant of 10 per cent will soon end with the Centre agreeing to fully fund the schemes under the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR).
This was disclosed in a meeting of the Minister for DoNER, Jitendra Singh, with the Northeast MPs Forum where all the three MPs from Meghalaya — Vincent H Pala, Wansuk Syiem and Agatha Sangma — were present. Union ministers Kiren Rijiju and Rameswar Teli also attended the meeting.
DoNER secretary Inder Jit Singh and North Eastern Council Secretary Ram Muivah and other senior officers of the ministry were present during the meeting.
Singh informed that in a departure from the earlier practice of 90:10 funding of Northeast projects under NLCPR flagship scheme of the ministry the Union Cabinet has agreed that under the new scheme — North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) — 100 per cent funding is being borne by the Centre, which will give a huge relief to the state exchequer and also put an end to the frequent requests received from them about lack of funds for them to contribute their share, he said.
The minister further said that issues related to enhancement of budgetary allocation for development of Northeastern states are being discussed with the Finance Ministry.
The purpose of the meeting was to brief the MPs about the ongoing schemes and future plans of the Centre in the region.
Welcoming the MPs, Singh said that the government will act for improving the lives of Northeastern people in close coordination with the elected representatives from the region. He said that DoNER is the only region-based ministry in the government.
He said that the procedures laid down for DPRs have been simplified so as to expedite the execution of projects in the region and to curb unnecessary delay.
The minister added that the chief ministers and resident commissioners of different states based in Delhi have been requested to coordinate with DoNER Ministry and follow up with the officials about the development projects of various states. The new MPs were briefed about the North Eastern Council (NEC), which was established in the year 1971.
Since its inception, NEC has focused on improving connectivity of the region which has been a major bottleneck for all developmental activities.
During the interaction, the MPs discussed development related issues pertaining to their areas. They expressed pleasure at the fact that a Chief Nodal Officer and a nodal officer have been nominated by the DoNER Ministry for their states. They wanted to be briefed about the status of development projects of their areas on a regular basis.