On his maiden visit to Mizoram on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scheme to address infrastructural gaps in the northeast region.
Addressing a public meeting at the Assam Rifles ground here, Modi said the North East Special Infrastructure Scheme (NESIS) would focus on physical infrastructure — water supply, power, connectivity and tourism — and social sector — education and health.
Over the next three years, the northeast will receive Rs 5,300 crore, Modi said. “Lack of connectivity is one of the biggest hurdles in the path of development in the northeastern region. We aim for a transformation by transportation through investment in infrastructure in the region,” he added.
The Centre has sanctioned over 3,800 km of national highways with an investment of Rs 32,000 crore in the last three years, of which nearly 1,200 km have already been built.
The Centre will be investing an additional Rs 60,000 crore under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in the northeast and Rs 30,000 crore under the Bharatmala project over the next two to three years to build a network of highways and roads in the northeast, Modi said, besides promising to bring all state capitals of the northeast on the rail map. Fifteen new rail projects, covering 1,385 km at a cost of over Rs 47,000 crore, are being executed by the Centre, he added.
“The new scheme has been designed after due consultations with state governments. However, to ensure connectivity, all ongoing projects under the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) will be provided funds for completion by March 2022,” he added.
The new scheme will be fully funded by the Centre, unlike NLCPR, for which the state government bears 10% of the financial responsibility.
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