The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra Singh met the MPs of  North East MPs Forum which included the newly elected MPs from Lok Sabha representing North Eastern states and the members of Rajya Sabha, on 27th June. 

The purpose of the meeting was to brief the MPs about the ongoing schemes and future plans of the Government in the region. The Secretary (DoNER) Dr Inder Jit Singh, Secretary (North Eastern Council) Ram Muivah and other senior officers of the Ministry were also present during the meeting.

Welcoming the MPs, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the Government will act for improving the lives of North Eastern people in close coordination with the elected representatives from the states of the region. 

The Minister added that the Chief Ministers and Resident Commissioners of different states based in Delhi have been requested to coordinate with DoNER Ministry and follow up with the officials about the development projects of various states. 

He informed the members that, in July, 2018, the NEC was restructured through the nomination of the Home Minister as Chairman, NEC and the MoS (I/C) DoNER as the Vice-Chairman, NEC.  Dr Singh said that that Union Minister  Amit Shah will chair the plenary session of NEC on 3^rd and 4^th August in Guwahati.

While giving his presentation about the functioning and role of DoNER Ministry,  the Secretary (DoNER) Dr Inder Jit Singh  said that DoNER Ministry plays a coordinating role to act as an interface between the NE states and Line Ministries. He added that DoNER is the only Ministry with territorial jurisdiction. He briefed that Chief Nodal Officers and Nodal officers have been appointed for each of the North Eastern states and line ministries. He also said that Inter-Ministerial committees have been constituted by DoNER Ministry for important sectors such as Roads, Civil Aviation & Tourism, Livelihood, Piggery, Medicinal & Aromatic Plants and Health & Nutrition.

The Secretary briefed that members about the major schemes and organisations  of Northeastern region such as North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS), Hill Area Development Programme (HIDP), North East Road Sector Development Scheme, North East Rural Livelihoods Projects, North Eastern Region Community Resources Management Project, North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd., North East Handicrafts & Handlooms Development Corporation Ltd. etc. He informed members that each non-exempted Ministry has to allocate 10% of their Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for the development of North Eastern states. He added that Rs 1,83,036 crore expenditure has been incurred by the non-exempted ministries plus Railways during the last 5 years, while the budget allocation for 2019-20 is Rs 56,530 Cr.

In addition to the above, A NITI Forum for North East has been set up in February, 2018. 

The MPs were briefed about the North Eastern Council (NEC), which was established in the year 1971. Since its inception, NEC has focused on improving connectivity of the region which has been a major bottleneck for all developmental activities. In its endeavour, the Council has contributed immensely towards the improvement of the inter-state connectivity in the Region. 

During the interaction, the MPs discussed development related issues pertaining to their areas. They expressed pleasure at the fact that a Chief Nodal officer and a nodal officer has been nominated by the DoNER Ministry for their states and they expressed their wish to be briefed about the status of development projects of their areas on a regular basis.