NEW DELHI, Feb 10 - With majority of insurgent outfits of the Northeast, including the anti-talk faction of the ULFA, enjoying a free run in Myanmar, India in a fresh attempt to woo the neighbouring country has proposed to double the budgetary support to Naypyidaw.
The budgetary allocation to Myanmar this year has been increased by massive 48 per cent. Last year, the allocation under the head �Aid to Myanmar� was Rs 400 crore.
The enhanced allocation was on account of India�s need to finance implementation of key projects, sources said. It was observed that in the last financial year, the Ministry of External Affairs was unable to utilise even half the provided budget outlay under that head.
The ministry has now been directed to take adequate steps to ensure that the allocated amount was utilised optimally for the purpose it had been provided for. It has been further directed that it should draw up an action plan for timely completion of all projects, including the delayed Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project and if required, it should also obtain enhanced allocation.
Meanwhile, MEA sources said that in the last financial year, utilisation of budget outlay under �Aid to Myanmar� was considerably low, as projections were made expecting that major infrastructure projects in the neighbouring country such as road component under the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project and construction of 69 bridges and the Kalewa-Yargi Road under the Trilateral Highway project would commence in 2015-16.
However, it took significant time in obtaining necessary approvals for these projects. All efforts are now being made to ensure that tendering procedures are completed within the current fiscal for optimal utilisation. Other projects include training programmes and small development projects, which are far less capital intensive, and have been carried out and paid for throughout the year, sources added.
The ministry was asked to chart out an action plan for timely completion of projects, particularly the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Project. Such delays could have been easily anticipated with a certain amount of foresight on the part of the ministry, which would have avoided the situation of locking up of scarce funds pending approvals.
India�s latest move reflects New Delhi�s fresh initiative to woo Myanmar in a bid to neutralise the insurgent groups operating out of the neighbouring country. Early this month, Myanmar�s newly appointed National Security Advisor (NSA) U Thaung Tun paid an official visit to India. He interacted at length with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, besides meeting the Minister of State for External Affairs, Foreign Secretary, Defence Secretary and others.
The new NSA is a career diplomat who has held diverse posts in the course of his long career in the Myanmar foreign office. �In his present capacity, he is expected to advise the Myanmar Government on internal and external threats by assessing situations from a strategic point of view,� MEA sources said.
Meanwhile, in contrast, India has slashed budgetary support to Bangladesh. The budgetary allocation for 2016-17 under the head �Aid to Bangladesh� has been fixed at Rs 150 crore, which is 40 per cent less than the earlier occasion, a report tabled on Thursday by the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee said.
The committee was unhappy to learn that the amount allocated for small development projects (SDPs) could not be utilised fully due to non-agreement over implementation modalities between India�s mission in Dhaka and counterpart agencies in Bangladesh.
The committee hoped that the Agartala-Aghuara link project will be expedited with a time-bound action plan. The estimated revised project cost of Rs 972.52 crore, with Rs 580 crore for the Indian portion to be funded by the Ministry of DoNER and Rs 392.52 crore for the Bangladesh portion to be funded by the MEA, has been approved by the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Railways and Ministry of DoNER have been advised to initiate further action for the work to begin on the Indian portion of the project.
The Project Steering Committee established under the MoU with representatives from the India and Bangladesh will monitor and supervise the implementation of the project on both sides in a time-bound manner to complete the project within the stipulated time.
