Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday highlighted the connectivity projects undertaken in the last nine years for the Northeastern region under the Narendra Modi-led government.
While speaking about the connectivity project by each sector in the northeastern region, the union finance minister said, “In the last nine years, the region has witnessed the establishment of seven new airports, from just nine operational airports in 2014 to 16 airports operational in 2023. Under the UDAN scheme, the airports such as Rupsi, Tezu, Tezpur, Pasighat, Jorhat, Lilabari, Shillong, Pakyong, Itanagar and Dimapur have all been operationalised with a total of 64 routes being operationalised.”
She informed that 13 major engineering projects related to Air Infra, cumulatively worth more than Rs 1,549 crore are being implemented across the Northeast.
Nirmala further informed about the connectivity through railways in the northeast regions. She said, “Before 2014, the average budget of the Railways for the North East was around Rs. 2,500 crore. The fiscal year 2023-24 railway budget for the North East is more than Rs. 10,000 crore.”
“The Prime Minister inaugurated the Northeast's inaugural Vande Bharat Express, connecting Guwahati to New Jalpaiguri on 29th May 2023, which provides a more comfortable and faster travel experience. Vande Bharat Express will connect Maa Kamakhya Temple, Kaziranga, Manas National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary,” she said.
She also stated that trains have reached the states of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya for the first time under the Modi-led government adding that, “Nagaland got its second railway station at Shokhuvi in August 2022, after a century.”
She also mentioned about the railway stations that will be developed under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. She said, “60 railway stations in the Northeast region have been identified for development under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Foundation stone for 508 stations was laid by Prime Minister on August 6, 2023, Out of this, 38 stations were from the Northeast.”
“19 railway infrastructure projects spanning 1,909 km and with an allocation of more than Rs. 80,000 crore are in the pipeline. Furthermore, from 2014 to 2023, rail sections of 1,618 km have been commissioned in the region,” she added.
Speaking on connectivity by roads, she said, “Roads, a pivotal element for regional growth and connectivity, have seen an incredible surge. 4,016 km of road projects are currently underway, encompassing a total of 261 projects backed by a staggering sanctioned budget of Rs.1,02,594 crore. In 2013-14, the total length of National Highways in the North-east region was 8,480 km, which has nearly doubled to 15,735 km in 2022-23 under the Modi government.”
Stating about the budget allocated for the road projects in the span of six years from 2017 to 2023, she said, “Rs. 3,400 crores has been allocated for 145 road projects under the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) in the span of six years from 2017 to 2023. In August 2023, the Union Cabinet reaffirmed its commitment by renewing NESIDS with an outlay of nearly Rs. 8,140 crore for the next three years.”
As the waterways also plays an important in connectivity, the minister said that 20 rivers in the northeast were declared as National Waterways under the National Waterways Act, 2016 adding that, “Before 2014, there was only 1 national waterway in the Northeast.”
“The Government has approved 5 projects at a total cost of Rs 1,126 crores for development of the Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) infrastructure on national waterways in the Northeast,” she informed.
The union minister also spoke about the social and agricultural initiatives undertaken by the government of India.
Sitharaman said, “The recently launched National Mission for Edible Oil – Palm Oil aims to increase cultivation by 700% to 3.4 lakh hectare in the Northeast, promoting Atmanirbharta in edible oil and reducing import dependency. More than 50% of the Mission’s Rs 9,000 crore outlay will accrue to the Northeast region.”
“Modi Govt has laid emphasis on 'Vocal for Local', 'One District, One Product' to leverage the inherent strengths of the region in sectors like agriculture, tourism, textiles, and handicrafts. The Prime Minister recently launched the PM Vishwakarma scheme to provide support to the region’s local artisans and craftsmen. Skill development, toolkits, affordable and formal credit will be provided under the scheme,” she said.
She further spoke on the budget spent to promote higher education in the northeast informing that Rs. 14,000 crores have been spent to promote higher education in the region from 2014 till January 2023.
Meanwhile, more than Rs. 10,000 crore were spent under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) and more than Rs. 64,000 crore under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) have been spent in the last eight to nine years.
