SHILLONG, Dec 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a handsome package of infrastructure development schemes for the Northeastern region as he virtually kick-started BJP’s poll campaign here on Sunday.
With Christmas barely a week away, like the mythical Santa Claus, he was generous with offering “Christmas gifts” to the Christian majority state.
At one point he also referred to his intimate interaction with the Pope recently as he tried to vibe with the people of the state.
Although it was an official function, it did not preclude Modi from referring to the BJP and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre while making a point on the Centre’s thrust on developing the “Seven Sisters”.
He drew a sharp comparison on allocation of funds and their speedy utilisation during the past eight years of the NDA as against the alleged slow and low priority of previous regimes.
Addressing a gathering during a public function to celebrate the golden jubilee celebrations of the North Eastern Council (NEC) at the Polo Ground, the PM, who was wearing traditional Garo headgear and Khasi men’s jacket, said his government has laid major focus on the development of infrastructure and connectivity.
“We have emphasised that the implementation of programmes and projects should be completed within the timeline. We are now seeing a positive change throughout the country as we tried to change the priority of the government,” Modi said.
According to him, only for infrastructure, the Centre spent Rs 7 lakh crore in the last 8 years.
“If we compare, the expenditure on infrastructure eight years ago was less than even Rs 2 lakh crore. In the past eight years, the investment on infrastructure has increased by four times,” the PM said.
He said with IIM and technology park education, the earning opportunities will increase in the region. He said the Centre has proposed to come up with more than 150 Ekalavya schools in the tribal areas of the Northeast and out of which, 49 are in Meghalaya.
He highlighted that the central government is moving forward with a new approach and its benefits can be clearly seen in the Northeast as well. He said apart from India’s first sports university, the region is well-equipped with multiple infrastructures like multipurpose hall, football field and athletics track. He added that work is underway on 90 such projects.
Speaking in the language of football during this time of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he expressed confidence that the day is not far off when India will organise such a momentous tournament and every Indian will “cheer for our team.” He said he firmly believes in the power of the youth of the country.
In his speech, the PM gave the example of the PM-DevINE scheme, which is going to give a new impetus to the development of Northeast by ensuring easy approval of big development projects.
He added, “A budget of Rs 6,000 crore has been fixed for the next 3-4 years under PM- DevINE”.
Modi said social infrastructure like houses, water and electricity have massively benefited the Northeast.
“In the past few years, 2 lakh new households received electricity connection. More than 70,000 houses were approved for the poor and 3 lakh households got piped water connections. Our tribal families were the biggest beneficiaries of these schemes,” he said.
The PM wished for continued pace of the region’s development. He said the blessings of the people were the base of all energy being put into the development of the Northeast. He conveyed his best wishes for the upcoming Christmas.
Modi inaugurated, dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stones of projects worth over Rs 2,450 crore in Shillong.
The projects he inaugurated include 4G mobile towers, 320 of them completed and 890 under construction, the new campus of IIM Shillong at Umsawli, the Shillong-Diengpasoh Road, which will provide better connectivity to New Shillong Township, four other road projects across Meghalaya, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh; Spawn Laboratory at Mushroom Development Centre, Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre in Meghalaya and 21 Hindi libraries in Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Assam.
He also laid the foundation stones of six road projects across Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. He also laid the foundation stones of the Integrated Hospitality and Convention Centre at Tura and Shillong Technology Park Phase-II.
Snippets from PM’s visit…
Being a Sunday, a small number of locals attended the public event. The venue was filled up with people from Assam and other states of the Northeast. A large number of buses from Assam were parked at Lumjingshai, Golf Club and Lad Mawroh.
Besides Conrad K Sangma, his counterparts from Assam (Himanta Biswa Sarma), Manipur (N Biren Singh), Arunachal Pradesh (Pema Khandu), Tripura (Manik Saha) and Sikkim (Prem Singh Tamang) attended the programme.
Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh skipped the event due to prior engagements.
Cabinet ministers Prestone Tynsong, Lahkmen Rymbui, Sniawbhalang Dhar, Dasakhiatbha Lamare and Sanbor Shullai attended the event.
Four former MLAs who recently joined the saffron party – Himalaya M Shangpliang, Ferlin CA Sangma, Benedic R Marak and Samuel Sangma – were present with BJP state president Ernest Mawrie.
A lone KSU member managed to slip through the security cordon to greet the PM’s convoy with a placard, mentioning their long-pending demands, as it was passing through Polo.