Removed all hurdles to N-E’s development, says PM Modi

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New Delhi, December 18

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched multi-crore development projects in election-bound Meghalaya and said the government had “shown a red card to all the obstacles in the way of development of the North-East.”

Addressing a rally at a football field in Shillong, the PM drew an analogy related to the sport and said, “The government has shown the red card to all the obstacles that come in the way of the development of North-East. Be it corruption, discrimination, nepotism, violence or vote-bank politics to disrupt the development in the region, we are working with dedication to uproot all these deep-rooted ills.”

Multiple projects launched

Rs 2,450 cr for Meghalaya

• The sprawling campus of IIM-Shillong at New Shillong Township
• Integrated Hospitality and Convention Centre at Tura and Shillong Technology Park Phase-II
• Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre; Spawn lab at a mushroom centre
• Rs 4,350 crore for Tripura
• ‘Grih Pravesh’ programme for over 2 lakh beneficiaries under the PM Awas Yojana
• Road widening works of Agartala bypass from Khayerpur to Amtali
• State Institute of Hotel Management, Agartala Govt Dental College and IGM hospital (Agartala)

The PM laid the foundation stone and inaugurated and dedicated to the nation multiple projects worth more than Rs 2,450 crore in Shillong.

Referring to the Parvat Mala scheme for building a network of ropeways across the North-East and PM DevINE scheme which seeks to give a new impetus to the development of the region through easy approval of major development projects, the PM said that the previous ruling governments of the North-East had a “divide” approach for the region while we have ‘divine’ intentions.

Showed red card to obstacles, building corridors of growth

The government has shown the red card to all obstacles. Today, we are laying emphasis on corridors of development, not borders of disputes. —Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

“Be it communities or regions, we are erasing divisions. Today, we are laying emphasis on corridors of development, not borders of disputes,” the PM said.

In the Christian-dominated state, the PM also recalled his meeting with the Pope and said he had invited the Pope to visit India.

The PM added that the Centre was spending Rs 7 lakh crore only on infrastructure in the North-East this year. Eight years ago, this expenditure was less than Rs 2 lakh crore.

The PM also visited election-bound Tripura where he inaugurated projects worth Rs 4,350 crore.

Stressing the importance of a double-engine government in BJP-ruled Tripura, the PM said the North-East region via Tripura was becoming a gateway to international trade.

“New avenues will open up with the Agartala-Akhaura railway line and the India-Thailand-Myanmar highway infrastructure,” he said.