Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 124/22

UNION MOS ADDRESSES CONCLAVE ON INVESTMENT POTENTIAL AND FUTURE ENERGY NEEDS OF NORTH EAST

Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Shri B.L Verma today, while addressing the 'Conclave on Investment Potential and Future Energy Needs of North East' in Shillong, Meghalaya highlighted the central government’s efforts in realizing the potential of the North Eastern Region (NER).

The Minister attended the conclave that was held as part of the week-long North East Festival under the banner of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav at North Eastern Council (NEC), Shillong. Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment for the development of NER, he said, “North East, which was termed as India’s Gateway of Freedom by Netaji, is now becoming the Gateway to fulfill the dreams of New India…We are working towards realizing the potential of this region.” The Minister stressed on the Central government’s commitment to accelerate socio-economic development in NER and apprised of the Gross Budget Support (GBS) allocated to the region. “All the Ministries/Departments are required to spend 10 per cent of the Gross Budget Support (GBS) from their allocation for the benefit of the North Eastern Region. This effort reflects the government’s special focus on developing the NER,” he said. He added that with the 10 per cent GBS allocation, the annual budget (revised estimate) for the NE States has increased manifolds since 2014-15. Shri B.L Verma impressed upon the various infrastructural initiatives taken to aid progress in NE since 2014 and said, “In order to address the issue of connectivity in this region, the government initiated a slew of infrastructural projects related to air, railways, roads, waterways, energy, telecommunications, etc. Today, rail connectivity has reached Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura, which was earlier, limited to Guwahati and five more projects are in line.” The Minister also apprised on the fact that the length of the National Highways has increased from 10, 905 km in 2014-15 to 13,710 km presently. Speaking on the development on the air connectivity front, the Minister added the recently inaugurated airport at Holongi in Arunachal Pradesh will be completed by August, 2022. It will add to the existing fifteen big and small airports in the Northeast.

The Minister added that with the aid of Universal Service Obligation Fund under the Department of Telecommunications around 5600 villages are being connected through a network of 4404 towers with an expense of Rs 3715 Crore. Additionally, with the aim to improve the state of power sector in this region the Government has spend an amount of Rs 10,003 crore since 2014-15, he added. The Minister took mention of the major ongoing projects viz, the 2000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project in Arunachal Pradesh- Assam with an estimated cost of Rs 19,992 crore and the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP) at an estimated cost of Rs. 6,700 crore in the six beneficiary states namely, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. The Minister also mentioned about the new scheme, Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North-East, PM-DevINE was announced by the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, while presenting the Union Budget 2022-23. An initial allocation of Rs. 1,500 crore will be made for the new scheme. It will fund infrastructure, in the spirit of PM GatiShakti, and social development projects based on felt needs of the North-East. This will enable livelihood activities for youth and women, filling the gaps in various sectors, the Minister explained.

During his address at the 'Conclave on Investment Potential and Future Energy Needs of North East', Shri Verma also stated that the NER has the potential of generating more than 128,000 megawatt of renewable energy. Shri B.L Verma expressed his hope that the infrastructural projects that are underway in the region would help attract private investors to boost Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).

The 'Conclave on Investment Potential and Future Energy Needs of North East' is part of MDoNER’s week-long North East Festival to commemorate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The aim is to leverage discussions on various aspects fundamental to the development of the North East region. The conclave was attended by Smti R. V. Suchiang, Chief Secretary, Meghalaya, Shri K. M. Chalai, Secretary, NEC, Dr K. V. Pratap, Senior Economic Adviser, Ministry of DoNER among others.

The highlight of the conclave included presentations by individual ministries on their projects and their thinking for the future. The individual ministries being Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Power, Civil Aviation, Telecom, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Railways.

The Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav – North East Festival will be celebrated from 28th April 2022 till 4th May 2022. Each of the seven days will be based on separate themes. The culmination of the week will be celebrated at a Valedictory event to be held in Guwahati, Assam on 4th May. The programme will be graced by the presence of President of India, Shri Ram NathKovind.

Press Release No. 125/22

GINGER MISSION ROLLED OUT IN GARO HILLS

Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Friday rolled out the “Ginger Mission” at Oragitok under Rongram Block in West Garo Hills on Friday in presence of MLA Thomas A Sangma and other dignitaries. The flagship programme of the Government was recently launched, which aims to increase the production of ginger with introduction of improved and high yielding varieties. The programme will benefit about 40,000 farmers in the State.

Interacting with the farmers, the Chief Minister said that a total of Rs. 121 cr has been earmarked for the next three years for the implementation of the programme, which includes establishment of processing units, imparting training and marketing linkage. He said that the core objective of the mission is to increase the production of ginger from 60 MT per annum to 150 MT per annum in the next three years, and ensure that Meghalaya becomes one of the largest producers of ginger in the country. He informed that Meghalaya government has initiated different programmes for the welfare of farmers like piggery mission, jackfruit mission, poultry mission, goatry mission, promotion of SHGs, and the largest farmers collectivization programme FOCUS.

Informing that in the last four years, the Government through different farmers programmes have mobilised more than Rs. 1000 cr, he said, “For effective utilisation of the funds and schemes, we need to ensure that people at the grassroots are well informed about this programme and take maximum advantage with the formation of cooperatives societies, SHGs and producers group”.He said that Meghalaya has close to about 4.5 lakh farmers and it will be difficult for the State machinery to reach out to them directly, he urged different individuals and organisations to come together to initiate formation of cooperative and multi-purpose societies.

During the programme, he also distributed cheques amounting to Rs. 27.60 lakhs to 40 Producer Groups (PGs). It is to be mentioned that till date, 287 PGs covering 1876 households with Rs.1.8 cr have been disbursed so far in Rongram Block.

The Chief Minister also distributed bee-keeping boxes under Apiculture Mission 2.0 to beneficiaries.

Press Release No. 126/22

CM INAUGURATES NEW BUILDING OF AKONGGRE SCHOOL ON 29.04.2022

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma inaugurated the new building of A’konggre Secondary School, Tura in West Garo Hills in presence of MLA Thomas A Sangma and other dignitaries. Built at an estimated cost of Rs.1.47 cr under Asian Development Bank’s Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya and implemented by the Education Department, Govt of Meghalaya, the new building includes classrooms, science lab, computer lab and digital classrooms.

Speaking at the inaugural programme, the Chief Minister said that the Government has accorded top priority for the education sector. He informed that out of Rs.16000 cr of the total expenditure which is incurred by the State, around Rs. 2700 cr is spent annually for the education, which includes salaries of teachers and development of learning facilities and infrastructure. “Close to 20 percent of the total State budget is accorded for education,” he said. He said different intervention to upgrade school infrastructure in the State has been initiated by the Government, apart from Rs. 200 cr which was allocated for upgradation of elementary schools across the State an additional Rs.170 cr has been earmarked this year. “In the next six months, more than 2500 Government LP schools will be renovate and repaired at a lump sum cost of Rs. 2 - 3 lakhs, and about Rs. 45 lakhs each to about 78 Government LP Schools, which are in dilapidated condition,” he said, while adding that 11 secondary and higher secondary schools will be given financial sanction of about Rs. 3-4 cr for overhaul of infrastructure and learning facilities.

On the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), he said that the State Government has written to the University Grants Commission for establishment of CUET test centres across the 12 districts of the State. He also urged the students to appear for the CUET exam.