Shillong, Jan 23 (IANS): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leaving no stone unturned in promoting Northeast on the world map and bringing progress and prosperity in the region.
Addressing the 69th plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shilling, Shah said whether it is natural beauty or rich cultural heritage, the region has immense potential to become a big tourism hub of our country.
"When Modi ji became the Prime Minister, he said in the very beginning that the development of India lies in the development of the Northeast. The region which was neglected for decades has witnessed unprecedented peace and development under PM Modi," he said.
The Home Minister said that from increasing livelihoods to bringing several development projects, NEC has played a crucial role in fuelling the economic growth of the region.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and Union Minister for the Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh, who is the Vice-Chairman of the Council, received Shah at the helipad in Upper Shillong.
Except Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Governor Jagdish Mukhi and Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, Governors and Chief Ministers of six other northeastern states took part in the important plenary session of the NEC, a regional planning body.
Ministers and officials of Assam and Mizoram, however, attended the meeting, where a large number of central government officials participated.
According to the NEC official, in the NEC meeting, progress of various developmental projects would be reviewed, and future plans and projects for the eight northeastern states are likely to be finalised.
A senior NEC official said that the Home Minister has asked Chief Ministers of the concerned northeastern states to resolve inter-state boundary disputes amicably through bilateral talks.
Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh while talking to the media after the NEC meeting said that the border fencing work along the India-Myanmar frontiers adjoining Manipur now being undertaken.
"Most of the militant outfits in Manipur were now under cessation of operation mode," he said.
The NEC, which was set up in 1971, is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the northeastern region comprising Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
According to the officials, over the last 50 years, the NEC, under the Ministry of DoNER, has been instrumental in setting in motion a new economic endeavour aimed at removing the basic handicaps that stood in the way of normal development of the region and has ushered in an era of new hope in this backward area full of great potentialities.
Shah, who arrived in Guwahati then flew to Shillong by helicopter on Saturday on a two-day visit to Meghalaya and Assam. His schedule includes attending the plenary committee meeting of North Eastern Space Application Centre in Shillong and the launch of Ayushman Bharat Yojana for the Central Armed Police Force personnel and their families in Guwahati.