Development / Northeast

Shillong, Feb. 20: Governors and chief ministers of the Northeast today came down hard on Delhi for slashing the North Eastern Council (NEC) budget for 2003-04. The department for Development of the Northeastern Region (Doner) had announced that the annual plan allocation of the NEC had been downsized to Rs 395 crore.

Cutting across party lines, chief ministers attending the NEC?s 49th annual meet here ? as well as governors ? were unanimous in their view that ?money matters in developing the Northeast?. They added that the sooner the Centre releases the funds the better.

The high-profile...

Shillong, Feb. 18: Sightseeing in the Northeast is set to get a facelift with several central and state government agencies joining hands to link conventional tourism with the newest form of tourism, geo-tourism.

The Geological Survey of India, Meghalaya State Electricity Board, North Eastern Power Corporation Ltd and directorate of tourism, Meghalaya, will work together to identify suitable sites for geological monuments.

?The idea is to survey sites of geological importance, which are found in abundance in the Northeast, and link them to conventional or what we call scenic tourism in these...

New Delhi, Feb. 17: The Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) has been asked to prepare the masterplan for the development of tourism and infrastructure in the Northeast.

The masterplan, which would be prepared under the aegis of the department of development of northeastern region (Doner), comes in the wake of the recommendation by a couple of task forces on tourism and infrastructure formed in September last year.

Sources said the master plan would go into all the details of the guidelines forwarded by the task forces. ?This would start with the funds needed for the...

Shillong, Feb. 17: The highlight of the 56th regional livestock and poultry show, being held at the Polo Grounds here, is the immense potential of the Northeast to attain self-sufficiency in this field.

The exhibition, which was inaugurated by Meghalaya chief minister D.D. Lapang, generated considerable interest among officers of the animal husbandry and veterinary department.

Livestock and poultry will be exhibited till Saturday to create awareness about the importance of rearing animals and poultry, especially in the rural belt.

Releasing a souvenir, Lapang said such shows will give the...

Guwahati, Feb. 16: The North Eastern Council (NEC) today locked horns with the Centre over the cut in its budget, accusing Delhi of keeping the council in dark. NEC secretary P.L. Thanga complained that this slash has created serious problems in management of projects, even impacting on the functioning of institutions funded by it.

Addressing a news conference here today in the run-up to the 49th council meeting at Shillong on Friday, Thanga said a chunk of Rs 104.71 crore has been sliced out of the Rs 500-crore annual outlay for 2003-04. This will necessitate readjustments in all ongoing...

GUWAHATI, Feb 16 ? The North Eastern Council (NEC), now a regional planning body, wants that the amount slashed from its current year?s annual plan outlay should be restored to it, said NEC chairman and Governor of the State Lt Gen (Rtd) Ajai Singh here today. He was addressing a press conference here this afternoon to apprise the media of the issues being discussed in the forthcoming 49th meeting of the NEC at Shillong.

The Central Government had slashed an amount of Rs 104.71 crore from the approved budget amount of Rs 500 crore of the NEC for the fiscal 2003-04. Though the NEC is yet to...

Shillong, Feb. 9: The chief ministers of the Northeast are gearing up for a heated session with Union minister C.P. Thakur following Delhi?s decision to downsize the North Eastern Council (NEC) budget.

Union minister of commerce and industry S.B. Mukherjee and Thakur, who is in charge of the department for development of north eastern region (Doner), are likely to attend the two-day special economic zone seminar here from February 17.

The Union finance ministry?s decision to trim the NEC budget for 2003-2004 by nearly Rs 420 crore has raised voices of protests from almost all chief ministers...

New Delhi, Feb. 6: Stung by protests over Delhi?s decision to slash the North Eastern Council?s budget, the department for development of the northeastern region (Doner) has rushed in for damage control. Doner has apprised the Prime Minister?s Office (PMO) about the likely consequences.

Union minister for Doner C.P. Thakur said the PMO has been informed about the budget allocation. ?The matter has been taken up with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and he has been apprised about the possible fallout. The matter assumes seriousness in view of the sharp reactions from northeastern states,? he...

NEW DELHI, Feb 3 ? The Union Government is shortly notifying bamboo as an agriculture product plaing it under the ambit of the Union Agriculture Ministry, even as a special Mission is being launched to tackle the situation arising out of bamboo flowering by Government of India. The Mission for which the Agriculture Ministry would be the nodal agency would involve at least seven-eight Central Ministries besides North Eastern State Governments, revealed Dr V.S.Oberoi Advisor TIFAC Department of Science and Technology.

At stake is 26 million tonne of bamboo, covering an area of 18,000 square km...

GUWAHATI, Feb 4 ? Contrary to the ruling BJP?s ?India shining? slogan, the North Eastern region is left with no other option but to dim with the Central Government resorting to drastic cut of annual plan outlay of North Eastern Council (NEC) for the fiscal 2003-04 and 2004-05. With the annual plan of the NEC getting pruned all the NEC funded 10 th Plan period projects in the region will be severely affected.

Sensing the trouble ahead, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar have dashed protest letters to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee urging him to use...