63rd Plenary of the North East Council NEC Auditorium, NEC Secretariat Shillong, Meghalaya January 2, 2015 Speech by Hon’ble Chief Minister Respected Dr. Jitendra Singh ji, Chairman NEC, Excellencies the Governors of the North Eastern States, respected fellow Chief Ministers of the North Eastern States, Ministers, Dignitaries, Advisors, Secretary and other officials of the Council At the outset, I wish this distinguished forum a Happy and prosperous New Year 2015 and let me welcome Dr. Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Minister DoNER into the North East fraternity. As expressed by the Hon’ble Prime Minister during his recent visit, the North East Region holds huge potential in tourism, energy and natural resources as distinct privilege of this region. We, as part of the Council, with its mandate to design regional planning, rejoice on the observation of the Hon’ble Prime Minister and resolve to harness our strengths to full potential. And in order to accomplish our task, we would solicit and are confident of all-out support and blessing of Dr. Singh whose guidance in this matter is crucial. We sensed fulfilment of many of our expectations by the various announcements made by the Hon’ble Prime Minister recently in Kohima, Nagaland. He announced to provide Rs. 28,000 crores for laying new railway lines in the North East and also announced sanctioning of Rs. 5,000 crores for 2G mobile coverage in the region. Sikkim will effectively leverage its capacity under these sectors from these grants announced by the Government of India. The Sevoke-Rangpo rail link in Sikkim is in a nascent stage and we hope that this National Project will surely see the light of the day. E-mobility with regard to telephone and mobile connectivity needs to be augmented. Many parts of the state of Sikkim are still very poorly connected or are completely out of service as far as this technology are concerned. The Hon’ble Prime Minister has also announced setting up of a National Sports University in Manipur and six new Agriculture Colleges in the region. Sikkim would be one of the six ideal places to have a new Agriculture College as part of the North East region that will promote organic agriculture in the country. It is heartening to note that the Centre has a long term development project in mind for development of the region through modern connectivity in rail, road, air and waterways. With improved connectivity the tourism potential of the region can be fully tapped but because of the lack of the required connectivity of good roads, rail link and air connectivity it is difficult to develop tourism in the region. Another important issue that I would like to flag is the role for Sikkim in the Act East Policy. Sikkim wants an active role in the Prime Minister’s Act East Policy that seeks to strengthen ties with the South East Asian Nations bordering the North Eastern Region of India. Sikkim can play a more active and positive role under the umbrella of this policy by leveraging our natural advantages for our progress and prosperity. Sikkim has great potential to offer in terms of tourism, horticulture and organic farming. The people of Sikkim and the Government is thankful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for the historical decision of opening up Mansarovar route through Nathula border. With the help of the Government of India, the Government of Sikkim will have to upgrade the infrastructure and connectivity including strengthening of security related infrastructure along the India-China border at Nathula. Though Sikkim is a border State currently there is a huge deficit in infrastructure i.e road connectivity, lack of alternative highway, lack of rail and air connectivity to the State. With the Hon’ble Prime Minister and the DoNER Minister in the helm of affairs I am sure issues of vital connectivity to the State of Sikkim would be addressed for solution. North Eastern Council (NEC) In the scheme of financing for Annual Plan 2014-15, the Planning Commission, Government of India has given a tentative allocation of Rs. 79.34 crores for the State of Sikkim. Recently, the scheme of financing Annual Plan for the eight North East States under NEC was discussed in Shillong. The Planning Commission allocation is Rs. 1028.13 crores whereas NEC has been allocated a budget of only Rs. 770.00 crores. Out of this, NEC has to set aside Rs. 143.00 crores for Airport Authority of India, Air India, Institutions in the North East and other administrative expenses, while another Rs. 45.00 crores is set aside for the BRO. The pro-rata distribution of the remaining Rs. 582.00 crores has been worked out by NEC and Sikkim’s share is only Rs. 44.99 crores as compared to Planning Commission’s tentative allocation of Rs. 79.34 crores. The entire North Eastern States suffer due to superficial increase in the NEC and NLCPR allocation without actual flow of funds. Hence, there is a need that the NEC and NLCPR budget is enhanced so that the DoNER Ministry is able to provide the allocation as earmarked by the Planning Commission. Without adequate budgetary support from Government of India the States in the NER have little scope of generating revenue. The Look East Policy involves improvement in connectivity by road, air and rail, provision of sufficient energy and reliable telecom connectivity with construction of infrastructure for trade and customs. There should be less restrictions in the international border with China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand etc. Hon’ble Prime Minister has taken up issues of the Look East Policy in the 18th SAARC Summit in Kathmandu recently. He visited Myanmar to improve the bilateral relations to make the LEP a vibrant reality. Bangladesh has reciprocated and the State of Tripura has begun opening up with Bangladesh. The Imphal and Agartala Airports have also been declared as International Airport. In Sikkim, since the border trade with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China takes place through Nathula, a high altitude pass, there are limitations due to the all year round cold climate and heavy showfall during the winters. The rudimentary infrastructure for border trade that exists at Sherathang and Nathula needs a major overall and further improvement. The Hon’ble Prime Minister has also made the historic announcement of opening up the Mansarovar Lake pilgrimage route through Nathula pass. Therefore, many new required infrastructure have to be built in order to acclimatise the pilgrims who will visit the pilgrimage centre. First and foremost the road from Gangtok to Nathula has to be double lanned into international standards. I am confident that the Centre Government is aware of the difficulties and Sikkim’s limitations. On 14th November, 2014 the Member, NEC Shri M.P.Bezbaruah along with Secretary, NEC chaired a meeting with the Planning Officials of the Government of Sikkim in Shillong wherein the Member noted it would be appropriate for Sikkim to promote Regional Institutions where all the other NE States would also benefit. The Secretary, NEC mentioned about the recently sanctioned NEC project of Regional Institute of Paramedical and Nursing in Nagaland where the seats are shared in the ratio of 60:40. The host State would take 40% of the seats and the rest 60% seats will be divided among the other NE States. In Sikkim context, the State already has similar institutes like the Manipal Institute of Technology and Engineering, Manipal Medical College etc. where students from all over North East are studying. Sikkim can have a Regional Institute on Environment and Climate Change and another institute on Adventure Tourism, as we already have initiated work on these two aspects. The DoNER/NEC can think of funding such an Institute in Sikkim whereby the other NE States can also reap the benefits. The Government of Sikkim is in the process of identifying a State festival with fix dates in the line of Hornbill festival of Nagaland and Sangai festival of Manipur for the promotion of tourism. Organic Farming This mission was conceptualised by the Sikkim Government way back in 2003. Organic farming in Sikkim is now quite famous in the country with praise coming from the Hon’ble Prime Minister on several occasions. This programme was also telecast in Satyamev Jayate a popular talk show hosted by Aamir Khan in 2012. We want to convert the entire State into a totally organic State by 2015 whereby any agriculture produce from Sikkim is grown using organic fertilisers and is healthy for consumption. We have voluntarily adopted to go organic. The process of bringing the total cultivatable land of 58,168 hectares under organic farming commenced at the ground level from 2010. Agencies accredited by Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority are certifying the organic process in Sikkim in three phases. Organic produce of Sikkim, mostly vegetables, would not only fetch more value for the Sikkimese farmers but also offer multiple benefits to the State. Tourism stakeholders of Sikkim are convinced that Organic Mission when connected with eco tourism would be a double attraction for tourists particularly at homestays. Visitors can enjoy the natural beauty of Sikkim and also gain health benefits by consuming organic products. The Hon’ble Finance Minister of India has announced in the Parliament, a package of 100 crores for organic farming in the North Eastern Region. Therefore, the Government of Sikkim request for appropriate support in terms of funding for this noble mission and also in terms of technology, transport and marketing etc. NEC and Sikkim Ever since Sikkim joined the NEC fold in the year 2002-03, the State has played a responsible role. We have hosted two major NEC meetings in Gangtok successfully in the past. In the 21 major sectors, the number of schemes sanctioned by NEC is 144. We have physically completed 105 schemes and 39 schemes are ongoing. As per our calculations the balance NEC grant to be released to Sikkim is Rs. 9252.41 lakhs. In this regard we would like to appeal to the DoNER/NEC that the funding from these two agencies should not be held up due to want of the State Share. You will agree with me that the entire North Eastern States have a low revenue base and therefore continued assistance and support is requested from the funding agencies. As and when our plan size increases substantially we will be in a position to contribute the 10% State Share as mandated for the NEC projects and schemes. Owing to our unique topography, demographic profile and strategic location with international borders, the Central Government should fulfil basic minimum needs of the region and that of its people. This includes quality infrastructure, good roads, airport, railway, schools and hospitals. The Ministry of DoNER and the North Eastern Council, should work out both short term and long term development strategies and impress upon the Central Government and various implementing agencies for time bound implementation of the projects envisaged. As I conclude, I would like to put on record that the North Eastern Region has made considerable progress in the current plan period. There is still, however, scope for a larger investment avenues in many vital sectors so that the economy of the NER can match up with the other developed States in the country. I believe that the existing developmental gaps can be bridged through creation of infrastructure and sustainable development plans and programmes. I am confident that with Dr. Jitendra Singh at the helm of the DoNER Ministry the North Eastern Region would definitely reap a rich harvest with his support and patronage. Our hopes and aspirations have been further raised with the visit of the Prime Minister to the North Eastern Region recently. We look forward to a fruitful discussion during the course of this important meeting and I hope that major decisions would be taken in the course of our deliberations that would enrich the road map for development of the North Eastern Region. I thank you for giving me the opportunity for placing Sikkim’s view at the Plenary Meeting of the North Eastern Council. THANK YOU *** JAI HIND ***
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 05:43:47 +0000
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