Development / Northeast

SHILLONG, Aug 23 ? Social activists in the North East are up in arms against the construction of mega dams in the region claiming it would bring ?untold suffering and land alienation among the indigenous poeple,? reports PTI. The Citizens Concern for Dams and Development (CCDD), a forum of people movements, NGOs, professional associations and leading citizens here said that the respective governments proposed to construct 168 large hydro-electric projects in the region and 28 of them were at the implementation stage and some others were also being developed.

Talking to media after its three...

SHILLONG, Aug 23: Going by the past experience of adverse economic, social and cultural impacts of dams, a serious review of the proposed plan to convert the north-eastern region into a power-house of the country by building 168 dams, is not only called for but imperative to prevent a massive disaster. The view was expressed at a two-day meeting of the 2nd Consultation on Dams in North east India, which concluded at Youth Hostel here yesterday. The Government of India has identified 168 sites as possible sites for dams, of which 26 projects have already been cleared.

About 50 participants from...

KOHIMA, June 29 – Nagaland Power Minister Tiameren Aier said the DONER ministry has already released the first instalment for 24-MW thermal power project at Dimapur, which was a commitment in former prime minister AB Vajpayee’s special economic package announced last year. The minister told the state Assembly that the first instalment or mobilization advance amounting to Rs. 18.86 crore has directly been released to the executing agency Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) by DONER in March, 2004.

Land for the project has already been acquired and the survey and preparation of estimates for...

GUWAHATI, June 29 – In a bid to give a boost to trade, the Commerce Ministry has released Rs 12.25 crore for NE. The funds have been granted for development of border trade points and the existing infrastructure. Assam has been allotted Rs 5 crore, Rs 2.25 crore has gone to Arunachal Pradesh, Rs 2 crore to Meghalaya, while Nagaland and Manipur have been granted Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore respectively.

The joint director of Foreign Trade, MK Mero, told this correspondent that the Commerce Ministry has been laying stress on infrastructure development in the North-east in order to increase the...

NEW DELHI, June 25 – Governor of Assam and the chairman of North Eastern Council (NEC), Lt Gen (retd) Ajai Singh has been asked to streamline the Council to ensure speedy implementation of the development projects. Minister DONER, PR Kyndiah gave this direction to the NEC chairman when he called on him this morning on a courtesy visit.

Lt Gen Singh apprised the Minister, DONER about the road maps of the NEC’s North-East inter States development projects in various sectors like agriculture, communications, roads, transport among others. Kyndiah said that NEC should streamline its role for...

GUWAHATI, June 24 – The State Government has teamed up with the Meghalaya Government to solve the problems of erosion and flash flood caused by the Basistha-Bahini river in the city. As a result, an inter-State committee with the officials of the Forest, Soil Conservation and Public Works Departments of the two States has been formed and the State Soil Conservation Department has been working on two projects involving the river in the city areas.

Disclosing these, J Malakar, Divisional Officer of the South Bank Soil Conservation Division, Guwahati told media men today that 80 per cent of the...

Imphal, June 21: Setting up of an international standard bus station at Moreh is on card with Union Ministry of Surface Transport and Highways seeking a detailed project report (DPR) of the same from the State Government. Along with it, the Union Ministry has also asked the State Transport Department to submit a DPR on Imphal-Mandalay road connectivity in connection with its ambitious Trans-Asian Highways project, a reliable source disclosed. Although the proposal of the Union Ministry is welcome, it has put the State Transport Department in a fix over procuring 50 acres of land at Moreh for...

GUWAHATI, June 18 – Indian industries are facing stiff challenges following free flow of third country products across the international border. The problem in the North East is more apparent as most of the markets are being flooded by these cheap products, posing a serious threat to the Indian industries.

The third country products are generally brought from Myanmar and then sold to different markets as per demand of the people. Porous Indo-Myanmar border and lack of enforcing agencies are helping the traders to run their business without any hindrance.

In Guwahati, three markets...

NEW DELHI, June 18 — The major hydroelectric projects in the north-eastern region have been held up because of the delay in environment and forest clearances, and threat from militants. The ambitious plan of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to generate bulk of the promised 50,000 MW of additional hydel power from the North-East is under threat of getting derailed in the face of the hue and cry raised by various NGOs.

Work on the 2000 MW Subansiri (Lower) Hydroelectric Project in Arunachal Pradesh was about to start when an objection over the environment clearance stalled it...

New Delhi, June 16: Doner’s big plans for the Northeast just got bigger. Less than a fortnight after being upgraded from a department to a full-fledged ministry, the Doner team led by Union minister P.R. Kyndiah has drafted a budget in which estimates exceed those for the previous fiscal by several hundred crores of rupees.

An official source said the estimates total Rs 2,000 crore, the highest appraisal since Doner was set up as a department in 2001. These include allocations for the North Eastern Council (NEC) and the non-lapsable pool of central resources, both of which are controlled by...