Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu today advised the North-Eastern Council (NEC) to revisit its approaches as it braces up to meet the challenges of the winds of change that need to be harnessed in the interest of the North East region and its people.
Addressing a workshop on “Changing Role of North-Eastern Council in the Development of North-Eastern Region” here today, the Vice President pointed out that India’s progress cannot be complete if there was uneven progress in various regions.
“If the North East region progresses, India progresses…If the region lags behind, India lags behind,” Naidu observed.
He suggested to the North East states to share their best practices in various fields and derive mutual benefit.
“India should work as Team India – Centre, states and local bodies working together on developmental issues to find solutions,” he said.
While lauding the NEC for its creditable achievements, Naidu said, “We cannot merely rest on our past laurels. We certainly have many miles to go.”
Stating that the government led by Prime Minister Narendrabhai Modi has embarked on a path of reform in all spheres with a view to improve performance and productivity, Naidu said that ease of doing business and ease of living are key objectives. “Working with a sense of urgency has become the norm,” he added.
The Vice President expressed confidence that the NEC will also be guided by this new ethos and policy environment.
“We cannot afford to go slow. We cannot be satisfied with poor quality. We have to constantly strive to be better than the best,” Naidu exhorted.
In this context, the Vice President stressed the need for ensuring accountability and transparency in every programme and said that schemes like Direct Benefit Transfer would go a long way in ensuring benefits reach to every intended beneficiary.
As the country celebrates 75 years of independence and plans for the next 25 years, he stressed the need to eliminate extreme poverty, reduce disparities, narrow rural-urban development gaps, revamp the education system and ramp up public health infrastructure, while building a healthy, educated, skilled and inclusive Atmanirbhar India.
The Vice President said, “Ours is an aspirational India. And the vibrant North East region, with a population of around 45 million, has its own dreams to be realized.”
The NEC can be an effective instrument to bring coherence to these dreams, strategise, plan, catalyse and coordinate the implementation in conjunction with the state governments, he added.
Terming the creation of the NEC as a seminal landmark redefining the approach towards the development of the North East region, Naidu listed out some of its achievements, including the construction of more than 11,000 kms of roads; 10,340 kms of power transmission and distribution lines and setting up of iconic institutions, among others.
Expressing his happiness over the perceptible change in the economy of the North East region over the past six-seven years, Naidu said the Per Capita Net State Domestic Product of all the states has grown significantly.
While there has been overall progress in the economic and human development profile, Naidu wanted the NEC to focus on bridging the gaps in respect of socio-economic development and said the North-Eastern Region Social Development Goals Index, 2021-22 released by the Niti Ayog provides clear direction in this regard.
“The Index is an effective tool for monitoring progress and identifying necessary interventions. The NEC should analyse the data and recast its plans to address the current and emerging challenges,” he said.
Maintaining that insurgency and the attendant violence that proved to be the bane of the region for a long time is on the decline, the Vice President reiterated that peace is absolutely necessary for fast tracking development of the North East region.
“Dialogue is the only way forward to resolve any problem. We are one country, states should be in constant dialogue to resolve any issues,” he added.
He said the youth of the North East region, like their counterparts in other parts of the country, are keen to write a new chapter in the history of the country. They have to be given opportunities and encouragement through concrete actions, he remarked.
Recalling that the 69th Plenary meeting of the NEC held in January this year had identified two key issues of resolving inter-state border disputes and attracting private investments, the Vice President said private investment needs to be promoted through encouraging entrepreneurship, venture funds, start-ups and skill development.
DONER Minister G Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for DONER B L Verma, DONER Secretary Lok Ranjan, and NEC Secretary K Moses Chalai, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and other dignitaries were present at the event.
