Guwahati, Jun 9: Underlining Indian government’s focus on northeastern part of the country, Indian Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “new model of governance through Seva, Sushasan and GaribKalyan” (Service to people, Good Governance and Welfare of Poor) has ushered in tremendous development in the north-eastern region, making it an attractive destination for investors.
“Pre-2014, there was no development in the North-East and investors used to stay away from it as there were no roads, railway network or connectivity by air. Today the region is connected like any other in the country. It has made tremendous progress in the nine years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governance and foreign countries are eager to engage with us,” said Chandrasekhar, while addressing a meeting organised by the JanjatiMorcha initiative at Chakma Ghat Community Hall of Khowai district in Tripura.
Speaking about how Prime Minister’s leadership has changed the narrative of India from a dysfunctional democracy to a vibrant one in the past nine years, Chandrasekhar said the Prime Minister has worked relentlessly for “24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year” with just one mission in mind -- development and progress of the country and because of his proactive policies and schemes, the economy could make a turnaround to become the fifth largest economy in the world.
Referring to India’s growing stature in the world order, the Minister said, “We no longer run to other countries asking for help. Today, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has emerged stronger. We don’t buckle under pressure from other countries or terror groups. Our befitting responses have forced them to think twice before planning any attacks against us.”
Earlier Chandrasekhar had said the entire northeast will have 4G connectivity and every part of Nagaland will get access to internet.
The union minister said Nagaland and the entire North East will have minimum of 4G connectivity as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of connecting all Indians, with an approach that 'No one is left behind'.
"Every part of Nagaland will get access to internet with BSNL and private companies playing an important role," he said, adding that digital connectivity across the region will usher in development and create new opportunities for young Indians.
The Indian government has spent more than Rs 3.84 lakh crore for the development of infrastructure in the North Eastern (NE) states since 2014-15. A total of 55 non-exempted Central ministries and various departments have spent at least 10 percent of their Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for the overall development of the region including Assam.
An amount of Rs 3,84,426 lakh crore has been spent on several infrastructure development projects to improve – road connectivity, air connectivity, railways network, waterways, telecom, and power, reported Financial Express.
The news report said as of December 2022, a total of 4,121 km of road projects have been completed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the region in the last seven years, while several projects of length 7,545 km amounting to Rs 1,05,518 crore are presently underway. The major ongoing road projects in the NE region are – the 62.9 km long four-laning of Dimapur-Kohima Road in Nagaland, 167 km long four-laning of Nagaon bypass to Holongi in Arunachal Pradesh, 152 km long alternate two-lane highway from Bagrakote to Pakyong (NH-717A) in Sikkim, 351 km long two-laning of Aizawl–Tuipang NH-54 in Mizoram, 20 km long four-laning of Imphal–Moreh section of NH-39, and 75.4 km of two-laning in Manipur.