Centre to spend Rs 1.5 lakh cr to improve NE highways: Gadkari
Shillong, Sep 24 : Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari here on Monday announced that the government will spend Rs 1.5 lakh crore for improving national highways in the northeastern states of the country.
"The Central government will spend Rs 1.5 lakh crore on improving national highways in the northeastern states.
"This will include about Rs 17,000 crore in Sikkim; Rs 48,221 crore in Assam; Rs 20,000 crore in Nagaland; Rs 12,000 crore Mizoram; Rs 22,000 crore in Manipur; Rs 8,000 crore in Tripura; Rs 10,000 crore in Arunachal Pradesh; and Rs 8,000 crore in Meghalaya," the Minister said while inaugurating the 102-km Jowai-Ratacherra section of NH-6 in Meghalaya.
The 102-km two-laned stretch of the highway has been constructed at the cost of Rs 683 crore. It has three major bridges across rivers -- Alpha, Lubha and Umproshung -- along with 34 minor ones, 441 culverts and a 123-metre-long tunnel.
The Union Minister said the Jowai-Ratacherra road will boost the overall socio-economic development of the population of the Jaintia Hill districts.
He said trucks and heavy vehicles coming from the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam can move smoothly in a record time to Silchar in Barak Valley, within Assam and thus provide connectivity to Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Southern Assam.
The travel time from Jowai to Ratacherra will be reduced from 4 hours to 2.5 hours.
The Minister further said land acquisition and environmental clearances were the two major hurdles delaying the road infrastructure projects in the northeastern states.
He asked the Chief Ministers of the northeastern states to hold monthly review meetings on land acquisition and environmental clearance for early implementation of road projects.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Tripura Chief Minister Biplap Deb, Arunachal Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and a host of Meghalaya cabinet ministers were prsesent at the inauguration ceremony.
"Land acquisition is a state subject and therefore we need the cooperation of the respective states. If the state can make progress on land acquisition and environmental clearance fast, we assure you that we will immediately approve the road projects and start the project as early as possible," Gadkari said.
Noting that prosperity comes from roads, the Union Minister said that industries and agriculture are the two very important sectors.
"If you want to develop industry and agriculture, four important factors are water, transport, road and communication, and without them we don't have industry and without industry we don't have employment potential."
Reaffirming that the Central government is giving the "highest priority to development of the North East", Gadkari said: "We want to implement all road projects in the region in a transparent and corruption-free manner. The government has decided to construct more railway lines and develop inland waterways to boost trade and commerce."
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said the highway will help boost the economy of the area.
"With the area being a high economic activity zone, the completion of the road will go a long way in boosting the economy of the area in particular and Meghalaya as a whole," Sangma said.
The highway that passes through the coal and cement producing belt is a lifeline for the landlocked states of the North East.
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Uncompromising stand against Bangladesh-origin Muslims swayed votes for NDA: Himanta
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday asserted that his government's "uncompromising stand" in taking steps against Bangladesh-origin Muslims swayed people in favour of the BJP-led NDA in this year's assembly elections, resulting in the alliance securing a two-thirds majority.
He maintained that the NDA's win was a victory for the Assamese indigenous people and affirmed continuing developmental work in the state.
Addressing a press conference, Sarma said, "The double-engine government and unprecedented development the state witnessed in the last five years are among the main reasons for our victory."
"We had assured of securing the Assamese 'jati' (community) and took steps to deliver it. Assam progressed in the cultural and economic sectors. Our uncompromising stand against Bangladesh-origin Muslims also had an impact," he said.
The NDA swept to a third successive term in the state by securing 102 seats in the 126-member state assembly. The BJP won 82 seats, while its allies AGP and Bodoland People's Front bagged 10 each.
On Sarma predicting nearly exact numbers for the alliance before the results, he said the assessment was based on his connect with the people.
"I visited every assembly segment thrice before elections. I have a good mass connect system, which helped in my assessment," he said.
Sarma claimed that recommendations of the Justice (retd) Biplab Sharma committee on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which deals with constitutional safeguards for the indigenous Assamese population, were implemented by his government.
"It was because of it that the Assamese people won yesterday. It was not just a BJP victory," he asserted.
The CM claimed the NDA secured the support of all sections of people, including Gen Z, which was evident in the young faces fielded by the BJP emerging victorious.
He dismissed the charge that the BJP has an "outsider" among its MLAs, referring to Guwahati Central legislator-elect Vijay Gupta.
"Vijay Gupta is an Assamese. If he is a Bihari, we (ancestors) also came from Kannauj. We all have come from different parts. Mongoloids came from outside, Aryans came from outside. This outsider narrative has been created by you all (media)," Sarma said.
On the Congress' poor poll performance, he maintained that there were very few people in the opposition party who understood the sentiments of the Assamese people.
Otherwise, the Congress would not have brought singer Zubeen Garg's name in its manifesto or levied allegations against an Assamese woman, Sarma added, referring to the opposition party's charges of multiple passports and undisclosed foreign investments of his wife.
The CM also maintained that Raijor Dal could have won four-five seats had it not joined hands with the Congress.
The Congress and Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal were part of a six-party opposition alliance that fought the elections together. Congress won 19 seats and Raijor Dal two, with the other allies drawing a blank.
"If Akhil Gogoi had not made the mistake, Sherman Ali Ahmed would have been his MLA today," Sarma said, referring to the expelled Congress leader who won as a TMC candidate after Raijor Dal refused him a ticket owing to the alliance.
On Gogoi being the only opposition MLA to win from a Hindu-majority seat, Sarma said, "It is the people of Sibsagar who decided who will represent them. On my part, it was the only Hindu majority seat where I didn't go to campaign."
"Akhil Gogoi should be kept in the assembly, else he will create chaos on the streets with his protests," Sarma said.
He also claimed that Gogoi had failed to make a single serious speech in the assembly during his first tenure as MLA and dubbed the Raijor Dal president a "comic relief" when the proceedings get dull.
