NEW DELHI, June 6 - The northeastern region (NER) has been allocated Rs 53,374 crore by 55 non-exempt departments under the Centre�s policy of earmarking at least 10 per cent of gross budgetary support (GBS).
The Railways allocated Rs 4,745 crore in addition to GBS. The allocation under 10 per cent GBS has been rising sharply reflecting the Centre�s focus on the Northeast, Union Minister of State DoNER Dr Jitendra Singh has said.
The minister said this while launching a booklet and its e-version on one year achievements of the Ministry of Department of Development of North Eastern Region here.
In his address, Dr Singh said DoNER Ministry has achieved 100 per cent expenditure during 2019-20 and there has been a significant development in terms of road, rail and air connectivity, facilitating the movement of goods and persons not only across the region but also the country, he said.
So far, the region has received more than 400 tonnes of air cargo supply, apart from parcel facilities. He said bamboo will get a special impetus in post-Covid era and the region will witness young entrepreneurs making a mark in different fields.
Some of the major projects which have been approved, started or completed in the last one year in the region. It also includes approval of the Rs 9,265-crore Indradhanush Gas Grid Project. The venture would be a 1,656-km-long North East Gas Pipeline Grid covering all eight states of the region to provide clean energy and boost industrial growth without pollution.
The Railways has completed the Belonia-Sabroom line (39.12 km) for providing easy access to southern Tripura and Chittagong port in Bangladesh. Track doubling of the 26-km Hawaipur-Lumding section of the New Jalpaiguri-Lumding Project has also been completed.
Sanctioned major new works also include track doubling from New Bongaigaon to Aghri via Rangia (142 km) at a cost of Rs 2,042.51 crore, bridges on the Brahmaputra at Saraighat and Tezpur at estimated cost of Rs 888 crore and Rs 3,512 crore respectively, besides electrification of the entire 2,352-km-long broad gauge railway network of the region at an estimated cost of Rs 2,293 crore.
Bulk cargo and container movement from Kolkata and Haldia ports to Guwahati river terminal via the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route and the National Waterway 2 (the Brahmaputra) has also started. Operationalisation of this waterway would lead to great savings in logistics cost. The IBP route is being further developed in Bangladesh at an estimated cost of Rs 305.84 crore.
All impediments (legal, political and environmental) to the Subansiri hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh have been removed and the work on 2,000 MW project (stalled since 2011) has started and is expected to be completed by 2023.
Dr Singh said the expenditure of the ministry during the last one year at Rs 2,803 crore has been the highest over for any one-year period.
