The North East Council’s Golden Jubilee is the centrepiece of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Meghalaya and Tripura on Sunday. Several high-profile projects are also on the agenda for the two-state tour, which comes just days after the year’s last election season concluded with the creation of new governments in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Both Tripura and Meghalaya will have elections early next year. While the National People’s Party (NPP)-BJP combination governs Meghalaya, the BJP also governs Tripura.
In a tweet this morning, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu wrote: “50 years of North East Council! Welcome to our Hon PM Shri @narendramodi ji on ‘The Abode of Clouds’ Meghalaya. We look forward to your gracious presence at the golden jubilee celebrations of @NEC_GoI. NER shall continue to prosper under your guidance. (sic).”
Here are highlights from PM Modi’s trip to Meghalaya and Tripura:
1) On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted about his travel to the states, saying that he “will participate in different programmes targeted at promoting the economic trajectory of these states and the broader Northeast region.”
2) The North Eastern Council, the main agency for the North Eastern Region’s social development, is made up of eight states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura. According to its official website, its constitution in 1971 “represented the beginning of a new chapter of coordinated and planned endeavour, and it has been vital in putting in action a new economic endeavour” during the previous 50 years.”
3) On the eve of PM Modi’s visit, Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Shillong on Saturday.
4) On Sunday morning, the Prime Minister will attend a crucial meeting of the North East Council.
5) In all, the Prime Minister will launch or dedicate projects worth Rs. 6,800 crore to the nation.
6) Meghalaya will receive $2,450 crore from these projects.
7) Prime Minister Modi “He will open Shillong – Diengpasoh Road, which will give greater connection to the new Shillong satellite township and decongest the metropolis, a government release said. He will also lay the groundwork for four more road projects in three states: Meghalaya, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh.”
8) Among the highlights are six road projects connecting the states of Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Tripura.
9) Among the 4,350 crore projects, Tripura will see the inauguration of the government’s ambitious Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Rural schemes. “These residences, built at a cost of over 3400 crores, would benefit over 2 lakh people,” his office stated in a statement.
10) His travel to the northeast comes as the opposition has targeted the administration over the recent battle between Indian and Chinese forces along the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang.
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