Fifty five non-exempted Central Ministries/ Departments are mandated to spend at least 10% of their Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the North Eastern Region (NER) including Assam for the overall development of the region. Under 10% GBS, an expenditure of Rs.3.84 lakh crore has been incurred by these Central Ministries/ Departments since financial year 2014-15.The year-wise details of Budget Estimates, Revised Estimates and Actual Expenditure under 10% GBS since financial year 2014-15 is given in Table 1 below:
| Table 1: Budget Estimates (BE), Revised Estimates (RE) and Actual Expenditure under 10% GBS | |||
| (Rs. in crore) | |||
| Year | Budget Estimate | Revised Estimate | Actual Expenditure |
| 2014-15 | 36,108 | 27,359 | 24,819 |
| 2015-16 | 29,088 | 29,669 | 28,674 |
| 2016-17 | 29,125 | 32,180 | 29,368 |
| 2017-18 | 43,245 | 40,972 | 39,753 |
| 2018-19 | 47,995 | 47,088 | 46,055 |
| 2019-20 | 59,370 | 53,374 | 48,534 |
| 2020-21 | 60,112 | 51,271 | 48,564 |
| 2021-22 | 68,020 | 68,440 | 70,874 |
| 2022-23 | 76,040 | 72,540 | 47,785* |
| Total | 4,49,103 | 4,22,893 | 3,84,426 |
| Source: Statement 11 of Union Budget of various years
Note: Actual Expenditure figures are provisional and subject to vetting of Ministry of Finance. * Total GBS expenditure of all 55 Ministries/Departments for the current year 2022-23 up to the end of Third Quarter i.e. 31.12.2022. |
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Several infrastructure development projects have been taken up by the concerned central Ministries and Departments in North Eastern Region (NER), which, inter-alia, include:
Road connectivity: Major ongoing Capital Road Connectivity projects in NER include 4 laning of Dimapur-Kohima Road (62.9 km) in Nagaland; 4 laning of Nagaon bypass to Holongi (167 km) in Arunachal Pradesh; Alternate two-lane Highway from Bagrakote to Pakyong (NH-717A) (152 km) in Sikkim; 2 laning of Aizawl–Tuipang NH-54 (351 km) in Mizoram; 4 laning of Imphal–Moreh section of NH-39 (20 km) and 2-laning of 75.4 km in Manipur. A total of 4121 km of road projects have been completed by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways in NER in the last 7 years (upto December 2022). Projects of length 7545 Km amounting to Rs.1,05,518 crore are ongoing.
Air connectivity: In the North Eastern Region, 17 Airports have been made operational. Recently Donyi Polo Airport (erstwhile Holongi Airport) has been inaugurated in Arunachal Pradesh. The development of new Greenfield Airports at Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh; Dibrugarh, Guwahati and Silchar Airports in Assam; Imphal Airport in Manipur; Barapani Airport in Meghalaya and Agartala Airport in Tripura; etc are ongoing.
Rail connectivity: New projects of length 864.7 km amounting to Rs.19855 crore have been sanctioned in NER since 2014-15 till date. Presently, 20 projects, for new lines as well as doubling, costing Rs.74,485 crore for 2,011 km length falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region are at different stages of planning/ approval/ execution. Out of these 321 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs.26,874 crore has been incurred.
Waterway connectivity: River Brahmaputra from Dhubri (Bangladesh Border) to Sadiya (891km) was declared as National Waterway-2(NW-2) in 1988. The waterway is being developed with fairway of required depth and width, day and night navigation aids and terminals. The facilities created and planned would cost Rs.461 crore during 5 years (2020-2025). River Barak was declared as National Waterway-16 (NW -16) in the year 2016. It connects Silchar, Karimganj and Badarpur in Cachar valley of Assam with Haldia and Kolkata ports through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) Route. The facilities created and planned would cost Rs.145 crore during 5 years (2020-2025).
Telecom connectivity: Department of Telecommunications has also undertaken several projects in the North Eastern States for strengthening telecom connectivity in the region, which, interalia, include (i) Mobile Services in uncovered villages in Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh for seamless coverage along National Highway; (ii) Mobile connectivity in Meghalaya and along National Highways on 4G Technology; (iii) Mobile connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh and 2 Districts of Assam; (iv) Bharat Net and Wi-Fi Connectivity for Village Panchayats in North Eastern Region; and (v) Hiring of 10 Gbps International Bandwidth for Internet Connectivity to Agartala from BSCCL, Bangladesh via Cox Bazar. In the North Eastern States, 1,358 towers covering 1,246 villages have been installed and are providing services.
Power connectivity: Ministry of Power has also undertaken power generation (hydro/thermal) projects since 2014 in the North Eastern States. Further, the transmission and distribution network has also been strengthened in the North Eastern States. 03 Hydro Electric Projects (above 25 MW) totaling to 740 MW have been undertaken in the North Eastern States. A Gas based Power Project in the State of Assam viz. Lakhwa Replacement Power Project of 69.755 MW capacity (7 x 9.965MW) by M/s Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd. was commissioned on 14.02.2018. Further, Government of India has launched various schemes to enable States including North Eastern States to strengthen their power distribution systems by providing funding for creation/ augmentation of sub-transmission & distribution infrastructure along with metering and IT enablement of distribution infrastructures etc. For strengthening of transmission network in the North-Eastern Region, Inter-State Transmission projects have been undertaken, which include new transmission lines, extension/upgradation of existing substations, augmentation of transformation capacity, reconductoring of transmission lines etc. Further, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) is executing two major Intra State power transmission and distribution schemes viz. (i) North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP) for Six States (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland) for strengthening of the Intra-State Transmission and Distribution Systems (33kV and above) sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs.6,700 crore; and (ii) Comprehensive Scheme for Strengthening of Transmission and Distribution System in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs.9,129.32 crore.
The Central Ministries/ Departments concerned sanction the infrastructure development projects after following due appraisal and approval process as per the applicable scheme guidelines of the respective Ministry/ Department. The scheduled date of completion of the projects differs from project to project depending upon the size of the project, its location, sector, etc. The progress of the sanctioned projects is monitored by the Ministries/ Departments concerned though various mechanism including physical inspection of the project site etc.
In addition, various infrastructure projects under the Schemes of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) and North Eastern Council (NEC) are being implemented in North Eastern States including Assam. During the last eight years (2014-15 to 2021-2022), 1,195 projects worth Rs.15,375 crore have been sanctioned under the schemes of MDoNER and NEC in the NER States including Assam.
The project proposals submitted by the NE States are considered for funding under the Schemes of MDoNER/NEC as per the applicable scheme guidelines and the allocations available under the schemes. These proposals are considered for approval as and when they are received in the Ministry/NEC, under a well defined process within a reasonable amount of time. Normally, the target date of completion of projects sanctioned under various schemes implemented by MDoNER & NEC is 2-3 years from the date of sanction.
This information was given by the Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Shri G. Kishan Reddy in the Lok Sabha in a written reply today.
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