The Hindu : National : If we light up the North-East, militancy will disappear: Aiyar

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Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007
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National

National

If we light up the North-East, militancy will disappear: Aiyar

Staff Reporter

New industrial policy for the region to be announced soon

— Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

FASCINATED BY PRODUCTS: Union Minister for the Development of the North- East Region Mani Shankar Aiyar, wearing the colours of the region as he tries out the items on display at the North-East Expo in Chennai on Tuesday.

CHENNAI: A new North-East Industrial Policy will be announced in the next few days, according to Mani Shankar Aiyar, Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region. The existing policy will expire on March 31.

"The new policy will ensure that capital subsidies and viability gap funding are made available for small hydro-electric projects and biomass fuel projects," he told journalists after inaugurating the Confederation of Indian Industry North East Expo here on Tuesday.

"The first priority should be power to the people ... the households must get power." While 62 per cent of villages in the region were electrified, only 24 per cent of households actually received the benefits. This showed that while power generation was taken care of, local distribution systems were inadequate.

"If you land at the Guwahati airport at night, you will be in complete darkness till you reach Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok. Even the streetlights don't work." If infrastructure was provided, the growth potential of the region would be enormous. In fact, such development would also help fight militancy. "We need to light up the North East. Once we do that, insurgency will disappear."

Over the next five years, power generation capacity was expected to more than double to 5,000 MW from the current 2,000 MW. Road infrastructure would also receive a boost with Rs.50,000 crore to be allocated under the 11th Five-Year Plan. The Brahmaputra was being developed as an inland waterway.

"Our Look East policy is anchored in the North East," Mr. Aiyar said, pointing out that the region was the gateway to South East Asia. While the North Eastern States shared borders with China, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, cross-border activity was hampered by political problems and trade restrictions.

While there was a need for the Government to initiate diplomatic measures to deal with the political issues, customs stations and cross-border road networks must be built to capitalise on the economic opportunities.

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