Centre nods Rs 74,485 cr for development projects in Northeast India

The Narendra Modi-led government has so far sanctioned Rs 74,485 crore for development projects in the North East, according to Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday.

Only Rs 2,122 crore per year was allocated between 2009 to 2014 under the previous government.

Currently, it is sanctioned at Rs 7,292 crore per year, according to Vaishnaw, who was responding to a supplementary question in the Lok Sabha during question hour.

The projects are very important because it has strategic importance because it connects the border areas, Railway Minister Vaishnaw said of the survey and investigation status of various railway projects in Arunachal Pradesh, including Bhalukpong-Tawang.

Work is progressing at a rapid rate. It was in response to a question from Tapir Gao, a BJP MP from Arunachal East.

Gao informed the House that the final location survey for these projects is currently underway. China shares a 1,080 km border with the frontier state.

In response to another supplementary question from Mizo National Front (MNF) MP from Mizoram, C Lalrosanga, on rail connectivity in the state, Vaishnaw said that in the state of Mizoram, a 51.4 km railway line connecting Bairabi and Sairang has been approved. It will use a railway network to connect Aizwal's capital to the rest of the country. The project is estimated to cost Rs 6,547 crore.

The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has placed a special emphasis on connectivity in the Northeast since 2014.

The minister said that Greenfield Airport at Hollongi, near the state capital Itanagar, is being built on a war footing in Arunachal Pradesh, and will be completed by August 2022.

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