Agartala, Apr 10: Inaugurating the first meeting of the newly-constituted NITI Forum for North
East held here on Tuesday, Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister
Jitendra Singh said an exclusive NITI Aayog Forum for the Northeast region was
a vindication of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to the region which
is unparalleled by any government or Prime Minister in the past.
'For the first time in 70 years, an exclusive body of Aayog
will be exclusively devoted to a region in the country, ' he said.
The meeting, chaired by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar and Dr Singh, was attended among others by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb of host state Tripura and his counterparts from Meghalaya and Nagaland -- Conrad Sangma and Neiphiu Rio -- respectively.
Senior officials from North Eastern states and academicians shared their ideas and areas of concern.
After the meeting, addressing reporters Dr Singh said it has been possible primarily because of Prime Minister Modi’s personal intervention that an exclusive “NITI Aayog” Forum for this region could materialise. He also recalled that Mr Modi has made as many as 25 to 30 visits to Northeast in less than four years, which is unparalleled and was unimaginable till a few years ago when even a visit by a Union Minister to Northeast was seen as a rare event.
Emphasising the need to identify constraints, streamline resources and add renewed focus on the NER,
the Vice-Chairman and the Minister spoke about moving towards a prosperous North East Region, the theme for the first meeting.
Mr Kumar said the step was symbolic like 'council of states for the North East'.
He said, 'HIRA'(Highway and Railway) was required for the development of the NE region.
He said the forum will focus on new ideas, going beyong the mundane , will look for untapped potential, supplement the North Eastern Council (NEC) in analysis and focus on ideas and their follow-up. The forum will ensure tangible progress, so all bright minds from the government, private sector, civil citizens and stakeholders have been brought on one platform.
Mr Kumar emphasised that the mandate of the NITI Aayog was to identify the bottlenecks and constraints in the fields of education, health, infrastructure and to address them.
He stressed on specific suggestions and their implementation in a time-bound manner, adding that the forum will be a functional body and the thrust will be how to bring investment, employment and opportunities for the young people of the NE states.
For the first time a unit will be full time engaged in accelerating the process, he added and emphasised that Niti Aayog will play a supplementary and supporting role.
The Tripura Chief Minister said the Centre has taken various initiatives for development and empowerment of NE states and believed that the forum for the NE will give an added platform and policy direction to his sate and the NE region, in general.
Providing education and health for all, cent percent coverage of electricity, housing, toilet and basic amenities for all would be a priority.
The broad agendas for the first meeting include among others strategies for improving Road, Rail and Air Connectivity in the North East Region, Realising the Hydel Dream – Way Forward for utilising existing for hydro-power in the NER.
Other plans include Agriculture and allied sectors, NE States to encourage Organic Farming, Cultivation of Vegetables, fruits, Spices, medicinal plants , Soil Health Card for farmers, Minimising post-harvest losses, Increased coverage under Crop Insurance, Milk production to be boosted Water Management, Early completion of on-going irrigation projects, Promotion of Tourism, Promotion of Eco-Tourism, Rural Tourism
and Adventure Tourism, Strengthening of North East Tourism Development Council (NETDC), Organically-themed Home-Stay Tourism (as in Sikkim) may be encouraged in other NE States.
The NETDC will work closely with NE States for tourism promotion, Identify and target early bird projects in areas of connectivity, agricultural productivity and industrial development to give fillip to growth in the NER.
The ‘NITI Forum for North East’ was constituted in February 2018 with an aim to ensure sustainable economic growth of the North Eastern Region (NER) of the country and periodically review the development status in NER.
The secretariat for the Forum has been established in the DoNER Ministry. UNI
The meeting, chaired by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar and Dr Singh, was attended among others by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb of host state Tripura and his counterparts from Meghalaya and Nagaland -- Conrad Sangma and Neiphiu Rio -- respectively.
Senior officials from North Eastern states and academicians shared their ideas and areas of concern.
After the meeting, addressing reporters Dr Singh said it has been possible primarily because of Prime Minister Modi’s personal intervention that an exclusive “NITI Aayog” Forum for this region could materialise. He also recalled that Mr Modi has made as many as 25 to 30 visits to Northeast in less than four years, which is unparalleled and was unimaginable till a few years ago when even a visit by a Union Minister to Northeast was seen as a rare event.
Emphasising the need to identify constraints, streamline resources and add renewed focus on the NER,
the Vice-Chairman and the Minister spoke about moving towards a prosperous North East Region, the theme for the first meeting.
Mr Kumar said the step was symbolic like 'council of states for the North East'.
He said, 'HIRA'(Highway and Railway) was required for the development of the NE region.
He said the forum will focus on new ideas, going beyong the mundane , will look for untapped potential, supplement the North Eastern Council (NEC) in analysis and focus on ideas and their follow-up. The forum will ensure tangible progress, so all bright minds from the government, private sector, civil citizens and stakeholders have been brought on one platform.
Mr Kumar emphasised that the mandate of the NITI Aayog was to identify the bottlenecks and constraints in the fields of education, health, infrastructure and to address them.
He stressed on specific suggestions and their implementation in a time-bound manner, adding that the forum will be a functional body and the thrust will be how to bring investment, employment and opportunities for the young people of the NE states.
For the first time a unit will be full time engaged in accelerating the process, he added and emphasised that Niti Aayog will play a supplementary and supporting role.
The Tripura Chief Minister said the Centre has taken various initiatives for development and empowerment of NE states and believed that the forum for the NE will give an added platform and policy direction to his sate and the NE region, in general.
Providing education and health for all, cent percent coverage of electricity, housing, toilet and basic amenities for all would be a priority.
The broad agendas for the first meeting include among others strategies for improving Road, Rail and Air Connectivity in the North East Region, Realising the Hydel Dream – Way Forward for utilising existing for hydro-power in the NER.
Other plans include Agriculture and allied sectors, NE States to encourage Organic Farming, Cultivation of Vegetables, fruits, Spices, medicinal plants , Soil Health Card for farmers, Minimising post-harvest losses, Increased coverage under Crop Insurance, Milk production to be boosted Water Management, Early completion of on-going irrigation projects, Promotion of Tourism, Promotion of Eco-Tourism, Rural Tourism
and Adventure Tourism, Strengthening of North East Tourism Development Council (NETDC), Organically-themed Home-Stay Tourism (as in Sikkim) may be encouraged in other NE States.
The NETDC will work closely with NE States for tourism promotion, Identify and target early bird projects in areas of connectivity, agricultural productivity and industrial development to give fillip to growth in the NER.
The ‘NITI Forum for North East’ was constituted in February 2018 with an aim to ensure sustainable economic growth of the North Eastern Region (NER) of the country and periodically review the development status in NER.
The secretariat for the Forum has been established in the DoNER Ministry. UNI
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