Government of India’s Development Efforts in North East

The Government of India had set up the Department of Development of North Eastern Region in September, 2001 and upgraded it to a Ministry in May, 2004 underscoring the its complete commitment to ensure development with equity for the NER to unleash the potential of its human and natural resources. This ministry is unique in the sense that its activities are regional and advocate the region which comprises the seven sisters of North East and Sikkim. Important activities of this ministry include:

• Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR)
• North Eastern Council
• Social and Infrastructure Development Fund (SIDF) – Finance Minister’s Package for NER, 2008-09
• North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd (NERAMAC)
• North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation (NEHHDC)
• North East Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi)

Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR)

The broad objective of the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) is to ensure speedy development of infrastructure in the North Eastern Region and Sikkim by increasing the flow of budgetary financing for specific viable infrastructure projects/schemes in the region.

North Eastern Council (NEC)

The North Eastern Council (NEC) came into being by an Act of Parliament, The North Eastern Council Act, 1971 to act as advisory body in respect of balanced socio-economic development of the North Eastern Areas consisting of the present States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. The NEC started functioning in the year 1972. The NEC Act was amended in 2002. As a consequence thereof, Sikkim is now a member of the NEC and NEC is now made the Regional Planning Body for the North Eastern Region.

The amended NEC Act provides that NEC will function as the Regional Planning Body for the North East and will formulate specific projects and schemes, which will benefit two or more States. NEC was instrumental in the preparation of North Eastern Region Vision 2020, which provides the road-map, outlines the goals, identifies the challenges and suggests implementation strategies for various sectors for peace, prosperity and development of the North Eastern Region. It helps in formulation of an integrated plan for the development of the North Eastern Region.

Critical Appraisal of the North East Council

Created with the twin objectives of balanced development and security, the North-Eastern council has remained halfway point to make any progress in either sphere. North Eastern Council (NEC) was expected to be instrumental in setting in motion a new economic endeavour aimed at removing the basic handicaps that stood in the way of development of the region. However, it became merely a funding agency and an unwitting platform of acrimony and mutual suspicion, where every state is more interested in getting its schemes, oblivious of long term interests, approved.

Other Notes:

• The seven States of the region enjoy special category status to develop backward areas.
• They get preferential treatment in the matter of distribution of Central assistance bypassing the Gadgil formula which gives weightage to population, incidence of poverty and performance. Dilution of the formula meant plan assistance to the States to the extent of 90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan.

Look East Policy as structural change

Another structural change that has been envisioned through the ‘Look East’ policy is economic development and trade routes to South East Asia via land and sea to bring about prosperity to the North Eastern states. This policy is pertinent to insurgency in North East because it would be persuading people to reject violent means projected by the armed groups and embrace peace and development into their lives.

Several measures have been undertaken under the aegis of India’s Look East Policy including the proposals to build rail / road connectivity and Natural Gas Pipeline. For example, in 2012, India, Myanmar and Thailand reviewed the eagerly awaited trilateral connectivity project. The three countries decided to make all efforts to implement this by 2016.

It is a trilateral highway construction project that aims to connect India, Myanmar and Thailand. The idea was conceived at the trilateral ministerial meeting on transport linkages in Yangon in April 2002. The trilateral highway will connect Moreh in Manipur to Mae Sot in Thailand through Myanmar. The project will be a significant step towards establishing connectivity between India and South East Asian countries.

Another such project is the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transport (KMMT) network, which is designed to encourage closer links between the port of Kolkata, Myanmar’s Sittwe port and, through road networks in Myanmar, India’s north-eastern states.