Long-term road map for strong infra in the NE needed : Min
Source: The Sangai Express

Guwahati, September 30 2016: Assam PWD (Roads & Buildings, NH) minister Parimal Suklabaidya has called for a policy road map to give a boost to infrastructure for transforming the North East region to a developed area.

Focused and special policies are the key to attracting a greater volume of investments in infrastructure in the North East, said Suklabaidya at the CII North East Infra Dialogue here today.

"Policy makers need to adopt a long-term road map for building a strong infrastructure in the Northeast.

This requires a mindset change among infrastructure stakeholders and the use of latest technologies,"Suklabaidya said" .

Addressing infrastructure problems has come to be the key focus areas for Assam government.

The long pending Barak Valley issues are now part of the bigger agenda.

It is an agenda of both crisis management and stabilisation of development," he said.

"The Northeast to a large extent still lags in terms of physical infrastructure, which points to our failure to meet the demands in the region.

The major challenges plaguing the North East region include poor intra-state connectivity and lack of adequate physical infrastructure needed to connect the region with major parts of the country," he said.

"The Government is aware of the challenges and both the Centre and state government have laid emphasis on building and developing physical infrastructure," the minister said.

North Eastern Council, Government of India, Member C K Das said "The region needs to take up time-bound projects.

Land acquisition is a major concern in the Northeast which can be mitigated to a greater extent by proper cadastral surveys (showing extent, value and ownership of land) in the region." Abhijit Barooah, CoChairman, CII North East Council and Managing Director of Premier Cryogenics Ltd, said the region is going through a significant transformation in terms of economic and industrial development.

"The macro economic outlook of the region is also on a growth trajectory," he said adding, "fast implementation of infrastructure projects will not only spur economic development in the region, but will also be a major catalyst in realising the Centre's Act East Policy." Greater focus on development and management of infrastructure in the Northeast is the need of the hour for bringing about significant economic transformation in the region, Barooah said.

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