NEW DELHI, Nov 24 - Faced with a backlog of projects running to the tune of over Rs 2000 crore in the North East, Union Minister of State for Development of North-eastern region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh said the State governments have a tendency to seek funds for new projects, while the ongoing projects remained pending for long.
Stressing on timely completion of DoNER projects by the State governments, Dr Singh while presiding over the third meeting of the Consultative Committee for the DoNER Ministry here today, also underlined that project delays are unacceptable.
Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju also participated in the discussion as a special invitee.
DoNER Secretary Naveen Verma informed the members that the backlog of projects now ran into more than Rs 2000 crore. Members also discussed the utilisation of Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR). They also expressed concern over delays in project implementation and misappropriation of funds.
Participating in the discussion, PA Sangma, MP (Lok Sabha) from Meghalaya, said the DoNER Ministry and the North-Eastern Council (NEC) should not merely act as funding agencies, but also plan and monitor the projects. Vincent H Pala, MP from Meghalaya proposed that vigilance and monitoring committees be constituted to oversee timely execution of the projects. Prem Das Rai, MP from Sikkim, also attended the meeting as a special invitee. Secretary, North-Eastern Council, Ramnganing Muivah was also present at the meeting.
