Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh has said the Government is seriously contemplating to reorient the North Eastern Council (NEC) to meet the current requirements and to address the new emerging issues in the North Eastern Region. Chairing a high-level meeting of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) here today, Dr Jitendra Singh recalled the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s address during the Plenary Session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) Meeting at Shillong on May 27, 2016 where he had emphasized the need to reorient and upgrade the NEC. Dr Jitendra Singh said, it was after 40 years that a Prime Minister of India had participated in an NEC meet being held at its headquarters at Shillong, which only reflects Shri Narendra Modi’s priority, concern and vision for this region.
Referring to the earlier years of NEC when it was constituted in the early 1970s, Dr Jitendra Singh said, much has changed since then and not only the level of expectation from the NEC has increased, but there is also an ever increasing spectrum of work undertaken by the Council. During the tenure of former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2004, a separate Ministry of DoNER was constituted, but it was felt that the NEC should also maintain its individual identity. Dr Jitendra Singh said, very soon, the officials of the Ministry of DoNER and NEC will sit together to prepare a roadmap for the possible reorientation and upgradation of NEC. He said, a number of new institutions have been set up in the region during the recent years, which include IIM and IIT in the education sector, Super-specialty hospitals in the health sector and exclusive institutes like the North-Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC). An effort will be made, he said, to develop the NEC headquarter at Shillong as ‘Central Resource Pool’ for the entire region wherein all the diverse institutes, organizations and establishments can be linked to a common nodal point in order to bring about a better coordination with expeditious progress in every area.
At the meeting, Dr Jitendra Singh also received an update on the land to be acquired by NEC in NCR Delhi at two important locations of Dwarka and Rohini. He said, this land will be used for bringing up hostels for North-Eastern students and at the same time for setting up a state-of-the-art ‘North Eastern Centre’ consisting of, among other things, a cultural centre and auditorium, which has been a longstanding demand of the people from the North Eastern region living in Delhi. The meeting was attended by Union Secretary DoNER Shri Naveen Verma, Secretary NEC Shri Ram Muivah and senior officers of DoNER and NEC.