Aiyar's NEC Plenary Address
Revamp DoNER, NEC: Aiyar
New Delhi, Dec 18: With the Centre drawing up plans to pump in more funds into the North Eastern Region, Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister Mani Shanker Aiyar has underlined the urgent need for a major revamp of his Ministry and the North Eastern Council (NEC).
While the initiative to energise the DoNER has gained momentum, the Minister said his Ministry is now ready to play the role of ambassador of the North Eastern States (NES) in Delhi.
Aiyar has been reviewing the various initiatives taken during the year at the third plenary meeting of the NEC that concluded here on Tuesday.
Briefing newspersons at the end of the meeting, Aiyar said that as a result of the intensive revision, they are in a position to assert that there should be a major revamp of the DoNER and NEC to tackle the new role given to his Ministry.
“If DoNER is to live up to its name, then it is not enough to be it should be disbursing Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR). We should advocate on behalf of the NES with the line ministries,” he said.
The practice so far is that the line ministries unilaterally decide on spending the budgetary allocations.
“If we have to act as the ambassador of the NES, then we require considerable strength and involvement,” he said, justifying the need to augment his ministry.
The Ministry's statement is significant because in September, a similar proposal to increase the strength of DoNER has been rejected.
About the NEC, the Minister said that the body has to become a major channel for development of the region. However, he acknowledged that long delay in clearance of projects and disbursement of funds was a problem area.
He said the Rs 1200 crore disbursed through his Ministry is peanuts compared to the Rs 84,000 crore budget of Government of India. The Minister also advocated the involvement of the State Government in planning inter and intra projects.
“Currently, there are no effective participations of the NES in final stages of clearance of these projects,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister announced that the ambitious Vision 2020 document would be formally adopted at a special session of the NEC proposed to be held in Shillong.
The document, being described as a 'peoples document' together with a document on poverty eradication would become a ‘road map’ for development of the region, he said.
The Minister said the Vision 2020 document has been prepared after consulting 50,000-60,000 people in the region. A committee has been appointed to review the final draft.
Further, the Minister said the NES have also been asked to prepare their own Vision documents, which would incorporate with the Vision 2020 document prepared by the NEC.
The NEC plenary meeting also reviewed the outcome of the eight sectoral meetings held this year, besides the business summit organised by Ministry DoNER. An Action Taken Report prepared by the Ministry was also discussed at the meeting.
Next year, three more meetings would be held. The summit on agriculture and animal husbandry and allied services would be held at Agartala, followed by a review meeting of the North East Industrial Investment Promotion Policy.
Another meeting is proposed at the North East Regional Institute for Land and Water Management at Tezpur in March. A similar meeting is also proposed in Silchar.
Posted On: The Assam Tribune
New Delhi, Dec 18: With the Centre drawing up plans to pump in more funds into the North Eastern Region, Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister Mani Shanker Aiyar has underlined the urgent need for a major revamp of his Ministry and the North Eastern Council (NEC).
While the initiative to energise the DoNER has gained momentum, the Minister said his Ministry is now ready to play the role of ambassador of the North Eastern States (NES) in Delhi.
Aiyar has been reviewing the various initiatives taken during the year at the third plenary meeting of the NEC that concluded here on Tuesday.
Briefing newspersons at the end of the meeting, Aiyar said that as a result of the intensive revision, they are in a position to assert that there should be a major revamp of the DoNER and NEC to tackle the new role given to his Ministry.
“If DoNER is to live up to its name, then it is not enough to be it should be disbursing Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR). We should advocate on behalf of the NES with the line ministries,” he said.
The practice so far is that the line ministries unilaterally decide on spending the budgetary allocations.
“If we have to act as the ambassador of the NES, then we require considerable strength and involvement,” he said, justifying the need to augment his ministry.
The Ministry's statement is significant because in September, a similar proposal to increase the strength of DoNER has been rejected.
About the NEC, the Minister said that the body has to become a major channel for development of the region. However, he acknowledged that long delay in clearance of projects and disbursement of funds was a problem area.
He said the Rs 1200 crore disbursed through his Ministry is peanuts compared to the Rs 84,000 crore budget of Government of India. The Minister also advocated the involvement of the State Government in planning inter and intra projects.
“Currently, there are no effective participations of the NES in final stages of clearance of these projects,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister announced that the ambitious Vision 2020 document would be formally adopted at a special session of the NEC proposed to be held in Shillong.
The document, being described as a 'peoples document' together with a document on poverty eradication would become a ‘road map’ for development of the region, he said.
The Minister said the Vision 2020 document has been prepared after consulting 50,000-60,000 people in the region. A committee has been appointed to review the final draft.
Further, the Minister said the NES have also been asked to prepare their own Vision documents, which would incorporate with the Vision 2020 document prepared by the NEC.
The NEC plenary meeting also reviewed the outcome of the eight sectoral meetings held this year, besides the business summit organised by Ministry DoNER. An Action Taken Report prepared by the Ministry was also discussed at the meeting.
Next year, three more meetings would be held. The summit on agriculture and animal husbandry and allied services would be held at Agartala, followed by a review meeting of the North East Industrial Investment Promotion Policy.
Another meeting is proposed at the North East Regional Institute for Land and Water Management at Tezpur in March. A similar meeting is also proposed in Silchar.
Posted On: The Assam Tribune