Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah today presided over the 70th plenary meeting of the North Eastern Council in Guwahati, Assam.
Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), G Kishan Reddy, and Minister of State for DoNER and Cooperation, BL Verma, the Governors and Chief Ministers of the North Eastern states and senior officers of various departments of the Centre and the North Eastern states were also present in the meeting.
In his address, Shah said that there were three major hurdles in the path of development of the North East in the past – violence and unrest by extremist groups, lack of rail, road and air connectivity and absence of thrust on development by previous governments. He said that the development of the North East was never a priority before but has been made one under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has made many efforts in the last eight years to bring peace to the region, to increase connectivity and to give priority to development.
The Union Home Minister said that the whole of India considers the languages, cultures, cuisine and costumes of the North East as its heritage and the government is making every effort to preserve and promote the natural identity of this region. He said that in the last eight years, the government has made many efforts to solve all the problems of the North East by finding their root cause.
Shah urged the Chief Ministers of the North Eastern states to make full use and benefit of the North East Space Applications Centre (NESAC) data for flood control, irrigation, tourism, afforestation and agriculture. He said that the region’s CMs should appoint a nodal officer for NESAC in their states so that maximum and better use of this platform can be made.
Shah also said that the Indian economy is currently ranked fifth in the world and financial discipline by the North Eastern states is necessary to contribute to making it second.
Highlighting the importance of natural farming and digital farming, he said that these are a matter of priority for the central government and the process of forming a multi-state cooperative society by merging Amul and five other cooperatives for certification of natural products has also started.
He said that after certification of these products, this cooperative society will also ensure their export, so that the profit will go directly to the bank accounts of farmers. Shah said that more than 500 laboratories across the country will certify the quality of soil and natural products.
The Union Home Minister said that a flood-free and drug-free North East is very important for the government. Emphasizing the measures to prevent floods, Shah said that the purpose of hydro power plants is not only to generate energy, but they can also be used in flood prevention. Apart from this, ideal use of 271 wetlands can also help in preventing floods. He urged to keep the North Eastern states free from the use of single use plastic for environmental protection.
