NEW DELHI, Feb 22 � President Pratibha Devisingh Patil today reaffirmed the resolve of the UPA Government to develop infrastructure in the North Eastern Region, signalling that economic uplift has taken precedence following improvement in the internal security situation.
Addressing the joint session of the Parliament, marking the beginning of the Budget Session, the President said that the Central Government remains committed to the rapid development of infrastructure in the North-Eastern States.
The Special Accelerated Road Development Programme covering almost 10,000 km is in progress. This project will provide minimum two-lane national highway link to all the State capitals, and to each district in these States. This includes over 1600 km long Trans-Arunachal Highway. A special programme to provide home lighting systems to all the border villages of Arunachal Pradesh is at an advanced stage of implementation, she said.
A special North East Rail Development Fund has been created, to provide assured financing for nine major national projects in the North Eastern Region, said Patil.
On the internal security front, the President said the situation has improved significantly in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as in the North East.
