Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that there is a need for extensive mapping for mineral, oil, and coal reserves in the northeastern states so that the region could be financially benefitted from the royalty received from these minerals.
Chairing the 12th meeting of the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) Society in Agartala, he also said the demographic data of people along the India-Myanmar border, especially in Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur, should be mapped so that it can help in fencing the boundary and infiltration can be stopped.
Informing that so far 20 waterways have been built with the help of NESAC, Shah asked the society to explore the possibility of building more waterways.
He also urged NESAC Society to take 100 students each with science background from all the states of the Northeast on a visit to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) so that they can develop interest in space and related technology. He urged the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region to contribute 60 per cent for this project.
Shah also urged the state governments of the Northeast to start new courses related to space technology in engineering colleges.
According to the union home minister the demographic data of people along the India-Myanmar border, especially in Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur, should be mapped so that it can help in fencing of the border and infiltration can be stopped. He said that for this, there is a need to conduct a comprehensive survey in the border areas.
Shah further said that the society should focus on forest area development using space science. He said that for this, necessary steps should be taken by comparing old maps with the latest maps and where there are possibilities, efforts should be made to plant trees in collaboration with the state governments. Similarly, the Home Minister also asked the society to map floods in the North-Eastern states.
Union Home Minister lauded the efforts of NESAC Society for proper and positive use of space technology in administration and emphasised its extensive use in the development of a difficult geographical area like the North-East in the coming times. Shah also said that the NESAC Society should also focus on developing its revenue model.
Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Chief Minister of Tripura Dr. Manik Saha, Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Manipur N. Biren Singh, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Sikkim Prem Singh Tamang, Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Sukanta Majumdar, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Secretary, D/o Space Dr. S. Somnath and Director, Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka, senior officials of the central and state governments of the North Eastern region were present on the occasion.
