According to an official release issued here today, Government had appointed resentatives to hold talks with some of the militant groups from Assam and Meghalaya. Meanwhile, Naga peace talks continued.
In the infrastructure development scenario during 2010-11, 1615 km of roads have been sanctioned, for an amount of Rs 9160 crore, under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in the North-East (SARDP-NE). The total expenditure incurred under the programme is about Rs 1067 crore and a length of about 146 km has been completed till March, 2011.
The Government has taken several steps towards improving the connectivity in the Region that includes air connectivity. While 286 flights were scheduled for summer 2010, the number now stands at 370 for summer 2011.
A sum of Rs 11.61 crore was released by the North Eastern Council, as the first instalment, for upgrading Tezu airport during 2010-11.
An extension of viability gap funding to M/s Alliance Air for providing air services in the North-Eastern region has been approved for the year 2011 at a cost of Rs 47.07 crore.
In 2010-11, as on March 15, this year as many as 6971 villages have been electrified, 11183 villages have been intensively electrified and electricity connections have been released to 7.03 lakh BPL households under Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY).
Under the PM’s Package Project on electrification/illumination of all villages along the border of Arunachal Pradesh, 726 villages have been electrified through solar lighting and micro hydel power plants.
During the year, 151 infrastructure projects, at an estimated cost of Rs 1526.29 crore, were sanctioned under the Non- Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) scheme. Some of the major projects include construction of RCC Bridge over River Aie, Assam; the Upper Shillong Water Supply Scheme, Meghalaya, Upgrading of Lengpui airport, Mizoram and Transmission Projects (Phase-I) of Tripura. 25 projects at a cost of Rs 237.60 crore were completed during the year and Rs 805.77 crore was released for various projects under Non-lapsable central pool of resources (NLCPR).
The North Eastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFC) has sanctioned new loans amounting to Rs 421.24 crore during the year. The total amount disbursed against these was Rs 281.33 crore.
The Assam Gas Cracker Project is being implemented through a Joint Venture Corporation M/s. Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) at Lepetkata, Dibrugarh, Assam. The total cumulative expenditure as on March 31, 2011 is Rs 2167.46 crore.
As a result of training received under the various capacity building schemes, 1497 unemployed youth got employment.