1,350 projects sanctioned to develop in the North-Eastern Region during 2014-22
New Delhi: Several infrastructure development projects have been taken up by the concerned Ministries and Departments of the Central Government in North Eastern Region (NER), which, inter-alia, include:
Road connectivity: Major ongoing Capital Road Connectivity projects in NER include 4Laning of Dimapur-Kohima Road (62.9 km) in Nagaland; 4 laning of Nagaon bypass to Holongi (167 km) in Arunachal Pradesh; Alternate two-lane Highway from Bagrakote to Pakyong (NH-717A) (152 km) in Sikkim; 2 laning of Aizawl – Tuipang NH-54 (351 km) in Mizoram; 4 laning of Imphal – Moreh section of NH-39 (20 km) and 2-laning of 75.4 km in Manipur. A total of 4121 km of road projects have been completed by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways in NER in the last 7 years (including 2021-22, upto December2022). Projects of length 7545 Km amounting to Rs.1,05,518 crore are ongoing.
Air connectivity: In the North Eastern Region 17 Airports have been made operational.
Recently Donyi Polo Airport (erstwhile Holongi Airport) has been inaugurated in Arunachal Pradesh. The development of new Greenfield Airports at Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh; Dibrugarh, Guwahati and Silchar Airports in Assam; Imphal Airport in Manipur; Barapani Airport in Meghalaya and Agartala Airport in Tripura, etc are ongoing.
Rail connectivity: New projects of length 864.7 km amounting to Rs.19855 crore have been sanctioned in NER since 2014-15 till date. Presently, 20 projects, for new lines as well as doubling, costing Rs.74,485 crore for 2,011 km length falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region are at different stages of planning/ approval/ execution. Out of which 321 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs.26,874 crore has been incurred.
Waterway connectivity: River Brahmaputra from Dhubri (Bangladesh Border) to Sadiya (891km) was declared as National Waterway-2(NW-2) in 1988. The waterway is being developed with fairway of required depth and width, day and night navigation aids and terminals. The facilities created and planned would cost Rs.461 crore during 5 years (2020-2025). River Barak was declared as National Waterway-16 (NW -16) in the year 2016. It connects Silchar, Karimganj and Badarpur in Cachar valley of Assam with Haldia and Kolkata ports through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) Route. The facilities created and planned would cost Rs.145 crore during 5 years (2020-2025).
Telecom connectivity: Department of Telecommunications has also undertaken several projects in the North Eastern States for strengthening telecom connectivity in the region, which, interalia, include (i) Mobile Services in uncovered villages in Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh (National Highways only) and seamless coverage along National Highway; (ii) Mobile connectivity in Meghalaya and along National Highways on 4G Technology; (iii) Mobile connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh and 2 Districts of Assam; (iv) Bharat Net and Wi-Fi Connectivity for Village Panchayats in North Eastern Region; and (v) Hiring of 10 Gbps International Bandwidth for Internet Connectivity to Agartala from BSCCL, Bangladesh via Cox Bazar. In the North Eastern States, 1,358 towers covering 1,246 villages have been installed and providing services.
In addition, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) is implementing various schemes/packages viz. North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS), Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) Scheme, Special Packages of Assam [Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Dima Hasao Autonomous Territorial Council (DHATC) and Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council (KAATC)], Hill Area Development Programme (HADP), Social and Infrastructure Development Fund (SIDF), Schemes of NEC (North Eastern Council) and North East Road Sector Development Scheme (NERSDS), for the development of North Eastern Region. Under these developmental schemes/packages, 1,350 projects worth Rs.15,867.01 crore, including connectivity projects, have been sanctioned during the financial years 2014-15 to 2021-22.