SHILLONG, March 14 – Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DONER), Dr CP Thakur has emphasised on speedy implementation of developmental projects in the region. Talking to media persons at the premises of the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute for Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) in the outskirts of the city today, the Union Minister opined that the North Eastern States should find out ways and measures for revenue generation. “States of the region should not always look towards the Centre for help”, he said.
Questioned on the reason for the tardy pace of the ambitious NEIGRIHMS, Thakur quipped “I have come to remove the dust which has accumulated over the project”. The NEIGRIHMS is being constructed at Maw Diang Diang, about 7 kms from the main city on a plot of 273 acres. The estimated approved cost of the project is Rs 422.60 crore, which includes about Rs 200 crore for construction of buildings and other services. The Institute will be partly functional from next year, Thakur said while adding the entire project is expected to be completed by May, 2005.
Commenting on the security aspects in and around the Institute, he informed that the State Government would soon set up a police station in he vicinity. Thakur also emphasised that investigation should be carried out into the killing of two contractors entrusted with the construction of the NEIGRIHMS complex by suspected militants.
“Specialist doctors should be given some sort of allurement for serving at the NEIGRIHMS” the Union Minister suggested. Dwelling on the vexed problem of insurgency in the North East, Dr Thakur observed “fast pace of development will suppress insurgency in the region”.
Later the Minister addressed the officers of the North Eastern Council (NEC) and discussed the various plans and programmes of the apex planning and development agency of the region.