NEW DELHI, March 16 - The fate of the North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP) hangs in balance, as the much-flaunted policy is scheduled to expire on March 31.
With the Northeastern states yet to lobby for its continuation, the policy, which had run into a rough weather and was suspended for the last couple of years, may become a part of history.
Confirming the move, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman, in a Rajya Sabha reply to a question by Ranee Narah said that NEIIPP 2007 was revised on November 22 last and the revised policy would remain operational till March 31. The primary objective of the policy is to promote investment and industrialisation in NE states, the Minister added.
Meanwhile, in a separate reply, DoNER Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said his Ministry does not enter into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with any foreign country.
At least 56 non-exempted Ministries, including those concerned with development of infrastructure projects, are required to spend at least 10 per cent of the Budget in the NE region. Infrastructure projects presently under implementation include the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme including the Arunachal Pradesh package of roads and highways; new railway line works; comprehensive telecom development plan; development of infrastructure of waterways; comprehensive scheme for strengthening of transformation and distribution system in the power sector; construction of Greenfield Airport at Pakyong and extension of runway/terminal building in major airports in NE.
This Ministry also assists state governments and some Central ministries for meeting some gaps in infrastructure within the available resource. The Asian Development Bank-assisted North Eastern State Roads Investment Programme is being implemented by the Ministry in six states of NE � Mizoram, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur and Assam.
