NEW DELHI, Aug 4 : As many as 20 major railway projects and 197 roads are being implemented in the North East States as a part of the several infrastructure projects that have been taken up for the promotion and development of the region, Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), said on Thursday.
“20 major railway projects at a cost of Rs 52,030 crore have been taken up in the North Eastern Region,” Singh said in a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
The railway projects consist of 13 new lines, two gauge conversions and five doublings, having aggregate length of 2,624 km at a cost of Rs 52,030 crore. An expenditure of Rs 21,336 crore has been incurred on these projects up to March, 2016. An outlay of Rs 5,040 crore has been provided for 2016-17 for these projects and for the residual liabilities of some completed projects, Singh informed.
The NE development projects under implementation include road, rail, air, communication, waterways and telecom network in the region.
“A total of 715 development projects with a total approved cost of around Rs 7,148 crore are implemented by the North Eastern Council (NEC) and the Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for NE at a cost of Rs 5336.18 crore is under implementation,” Singh said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
The DoNER Minister also said that the Road Transport and Highways Ministry has implemented a total of 197 road development projects in the region. The projects are being implemented in Arunachal Pradesh–37, Assam–68, Manipur–21, Meghalaya–22, Mizoram–17 Nagaland–10, Sikkim–19 and Tripura–3. They are being implemented under various programmes and schemes of the Road Transport and Highways Ministry.
Singh said that the Ministry is coordinating various activities, including connectivity projects of various line ministries, in the region.
“Besides creating direct and indirect employment under various development projects, the DoNER Ministry and the NEC also provide funds for meeting gaps in infrastructure.” Singh added.
The question was raised by MP Shrimati Jharna Das Baidya in the House.
