NEW DELHI, Feb 6 — Even as the amended North Eastern Council (NEC) Bill is pending clearance in the Parliament, the agency has sought an enhanced role for itself in the region seeking stiff hike in allocation of Rs 6,075 crore for 10th Five Year Plan period. The revised allocation for the Ninth Five year plan was fixed at Rs 2,450 crore. The NEC’s plan projections for the 10th Five Year Plan would be finalised at the 46th meeting of the Council scheduled to be held in Shillong on February 8. The meeting would be followed by a conference of Chief Ministers of the North Eastern States including Sikkim, the next day, where top officials of several Central organisations including three States would be briefing on the progress of vital projects.
One of the briefing on the agenda is a presentation by senior DDG of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) RK Bhatia on the status of three-tier State connectivity project, said the secretary for Department of Development of North Eastern States, Dr PD Shenoy, briefing newsmen here today. The project that is expected to change the face of communication in the region envisages to draw 8,900 km of optical fibre network (OFC) by 2002-2003 connecting all district, sub-divisional and 487 block headquarters in the region. The focus would to bring synergy for meeting the requirements of civil authorities, Ministry of Defence, para-military forces, Department of Information Technology and Railway, besides other user development agencies, said Dr Shenoy.
Meanwhile, NEC has proposed an outlay of Rs 467 crore for the net financial year (2002-2003), which is an increase of Rs 17 crore over the current years allocation of Rs 450 crore. The annual plan would be fixed at the meeting to be chaired by Assam Governor, Lt Gen (Retd), SK Sinha. While the Minister of State, for Development of North Eastern States, Arun Shourie would be present on both the days. By seeking an quantum jump in allocation, the NEC has proposed to take a few major initiatives including release of Rs 175 crore to the Civil Aviation Ministry to introduce 50-seater aircrafts in the region. The meeting is also expected to discuss draft guidelines for projects implementation and revised contracts agreement for NEC works.
Meanwhile, Dr Shenoy said the February 9 meeting would focus on several vital areas of infrastructure development. The NEC for instance would make a presentation on the status of NEC roads indicating the present bottlenecks in the system and the need for reforms. The NEC currently has 106 approved schemes estimated at Rs 1,316 crore. The Council has completed about 4800 km of roads in the region. Dr Shenoy said the meeting would also focus on the status and plans of National Highways in the region. The department has taken some major initiatives like improvement of riding quality of existing road surface — about 530 km has been completed — shift towards mechanisation.