The Hindu : National : Mani Shankar Aiyar seeks foreign office branch in northeast region

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Mani Shankar Aiyar seeks foreign office branch in northeast region

Special Correspondent

``Opportunities for infrastructure development''

— PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

Union Minister for Development of the North-East Region Mani Shankar Aiyar greeting the former Governor of Nagaland Manipur and Tripura, Gen. (retd. K.V. Krishna Rao, during a conference in Hyderabad on Friday.

HYDERABAD : Union Minister for Development of the Northeast Region Mani Shankar Aiyar has sought the establishment a branch of the foreign office in the Northeast to speed up improvement in relations with the neighbouring countries.

``We cannot move towards development unless our relations improve with two or more countries,'' Mr. Aiyar said here on Friday while inaugurating a conference on `Northeastern region of India: Constraints and Opportunities for Development'' organised by the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI).

The Minister was optimistic that sky was the limit for the region's development. The economic growth rate of the country would touch 12 per cent if the region's own levels went up from the present four to nine per cent.

He saw exciting opportunities for infrastructure development in the northeast in power, roads, inland waterways and airways.

Disarming terrorists

Development of the power sector would also disarm terrorists who carried out their operations under the cover of darkness. There was a potential to generate 60,000 MW through hydel projects. In Arunachal Pradesh alone, as many as 492 locations were identified for setting up hydel stations of less than 10 MW each.

Road connectivity was proposed for over 30,000 km with an investment of Rs. 50,000 in the 11th Five Year Plan. Contractors from within and outside the State would be involved in the road works to be taken up on the Thai model where large U.S. companies executed the projects in collaboration with local firms.

Air traffic

Mr. Aiyar saw scope for air traffic to the region going up in the next two years with the number of flights increasing from the present 226 to 600 a week. Twenty-eight airports would be activated during the period and they would be further increased to 50 if the wish list of the State Governments was conceded.

Investment interest

He said corporates displayed genuine investment interest at the third business summit of the northeast in New Delhi on April 10. The summit had attracted 128 expressions of interest from them.

The Centre proposed to make the region a tax-free zone that also had high dosage of subsidy on capital, interest, insurance and transportation.

M. Narasimham, Chairman, Court of Governors, and S.K. Rao, Director-General, ASCI, also spoke.

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