Union Home Minister Amit Shah today said that earlier funds allocated to the North East did not reach the bottom most level, but after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, funds are reaching villages and being utilised for development, and this is a great achievement.
Speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of the North Eastern Council (NEC) here, Shah said that the Prime Minister has always given priority to the North East and has visited the region more than 50 times in the last eight years, while central ministers have also visited the North East more than 400 times.
The Union Home Minister said earlier the development of the North East region was stalled due to the limited budget allocated to the NEC, but Modi has given a new shape and provided a new dimension to the infrastructure of the North East by initiating large projects at the central level.
“Due to improved infrastructure, the possibilities of tourism have increased in the North East, as also many small industries, educational institutions and sports-related institutions have also opened,” Shah said, adding that the Prime Minister has also taken up the project of connecting every capital of the North-East states by road, train and through air connectivity.
Shah said that due to the leadership of the Prime Minister, the North East is now free from all disputes and peace has been established in the region.
“Till eight years ago, the entire North East was only known for bandhs, strikes, bomb blasts and firings, and the people of North East could not live peacefully due to the activities of different militant groups. In the past eight years there has been a 74 per cent reduction in insurgency incidents, 60 per cent reduction in incidents of attacks on security forces and 89 per cent reduction in civilian deaths, while about 8,000 youth have surrendered and joined the mainstream,” Shah said.
He said that these are great achievements made possible due to the leadership of Prime Minister Modi because without peace it is impossible to develop institutions of development, education and health.
Shah said during the tenure of Prime Minister Modi, the agreement with the NLFT in 2019, the Bru and Bodo Agreement in 2020, and Karbi Agreement in 2021 were agreed upon.
“The Assam-Meghalaya and Assam-Arunachal border disputes have also almost ended, and due to the restoration of peace, the North East region has moved on the path of development. The biggest example of this is earlier there used to be a demand to remove AFSPA from the North East, but now the demand does not arise, rather the Government of India is taking steps and initiatives to remove AFSPA,” he said.
He said that now 60 per cent area of Assam, seven districts of Nagaland, 15 police stations in six districts of Manipur and Tripura and Meghalaya have become completely AFSPA free, while in only one district in Arunachal AFSPA is yet to be lifted.
The Union Home Minister expressed confidence that the NEC and the chief ministers of the North East states will work with complete determination to fulfill the goals set for the NEC by Prime Minister Modi to help develop the region and help create a developed, peaceful, employment-rich North East like other regions of the country.
Among those present at the meeting were Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy, Kiren Rijiju and Sarbanada Sonowal and B L Verma, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, Meghalaya Governor Brig (Retd) B D Mishra, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha.
