SHILLONG: Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh has said that the idea of New India cannot be turned into a reality until the concept of New North East is not materialised
Addressing the concluding function of the 67th plenary session of the North Eastern Council here on Tuesday, Rajnath Singh said the target of New North East should be completed as India aspire to emerge New India by the year 2022
“I believe the road for New India goes from New North East and NEC should pay more attention to it,” he said.
Stating that many projects in the region have been delayed due to issues of land acquisition and forest clearance, he said that the Central Government schemes should be implemented with active support and cooperation of the State Governments in the region
Pointing out that the Union Government has implemented North East Industrial Development Scheme for promotion of industrialization and private investment in the region he, however, lamented that there was no desired level of investment in the region.
Singh also called upon the State Governments to create environment for the investors to feel safe and there should not be any harassment against the investors.
As far as providing skill development to the youths of the region, Singh suggested the NEC to open a regional centre for skill development which would also lead to employment generation
On the Act East Policy, he said that the road map for the policy should be prepared by now and it should be implemented in a time-bound manner, adding that the projects which have been delayed now should be completed in the time-bound manner.
On the law and order front, he said that insurgency also affected the development of the region for a long time and now as the situation has improved, all the North Eastern states should take advantage of it and Government should adopt strategies to strengthen law and order in the region
