The Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (IC) Dr Jitendra Singh chaired a review meeting with the officials of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and North Eastern Council (NEC), here today. The Secretary, Ministry of DoNER, Dr Inderjit Singh, Secretary NEC, Shri Ram Muivah were present during the meeting.

The officials briefed the Minister about the progress made on the ongoing projects in the North Eastern region of India. He was also briefed about the upcoming initiatives and projects to be implemented in the region.

During the meeting, Dr Jitendra Singh was informed that an amount of Rs 11 crore has been released for the construction of JNU hostel for northeastern students in Delhi. The tendering by CPWD is in process. This is the first of its kind hostel in JNU. The hostel will have 224 rooms and accommodate 424 students. 

Out of 224 rooms, 24 rooms have been assigned for Divyang students. The remaining rooms will be occupied by an equal number of boys and girls i.e  200 boys and 200 girls. The four-storey hostel will be built in approximately one and a half acre area. 

The construction work will start in the coming weeks. He was also informed that the hostel for North Eastern girl students, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister in Bengaluru recently, has also become functional. In addition to these hostels, the land acquisition process has started for the Rohini hostel for Northeastern students studying in colleges and institutions related to Delhi University and Rs 2.5 crore has been released to DDA. The hostel will be built in an area of about 5 acres.

The status of the North Eastern Cultural and Information Centre to be set up in Dwarka in New Delhi, was also discussed during the meeting.

The estimated cost of the project is about Rs. 50 crore. The Minister said that this Centre will act as a cultural and convention/information hub of the North Eastern Region in Delhi. It will be constructed at par with the international standards and will have a library-cum-reading room with material on North Eastern Region, an art gallery showcasing the North East.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the development of the north eastern region has been the priority for the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Government will make all efforts for the implementation of ongoing development projects in North East and will take measures to introduce new projects for the benefit of people of North East. 

He added that the ministers will soon start their visits to the North east region to have a first-hand knowledge and ground realities of the people there.