NE Chief Ministers to deliberate on 11th five year Plan

Shillong, July 7 (UNI) Chief Ministers of North Eastern states, including Sikkim, would urge the Planning Commission to include a special chapter for North East in the 11th Five Year Plan meeting.

The Chief Ministers will place this demand in tomorrow's meeting, which will be attended by Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia at Hotel Pine Wood here.

The meeting will be held on the backdrop of the Ten Five Year Plan which will expire on March 2007 and from April one the 11th Five Year Plan will come into effect.

Planning Ministers and Chairmans of the states Planning Board of the region, including Sikkim, will also participate in the day-long deliberations.

On the next day, Mr Ahluwalia will hold consultation meeting with the proffessors from various Universities of the region, NGO leaders and civil society on the approach paper at North Eastern Hills University campus here.

The Chief Ministers felt that their demand was a ''genuine one'' as the region is placed in a strategic location and a special approach should be adopted with infrastructure as its main thrust, said a government official here.

Meanwhile, talking to UNI exclusively, Meghalaya Chief Secretary S K Tewari said the Chief Ministers will suggest the Commission to lay more emphasis on Agricuture, Physical infrastructure, Human Resources Development and Strengthening of the rural economy.

''We want the Commission to emphasise more on the Agriculture sector as the growth rate was 1.5 per cent during the 10th Five Year Plan,'' Mr Tewari stressed.

He said under the 11th Five Year Plan the growth rate is expected to rise to four per cent to strengthen the rural economy.

Mr Tewari said the Chief Ministers will also deliberate on the unemployment problem of the region, suggesting the Commission to emphasise more on investing in the region in various sectors such as Tourism industry and food processing industry to generate employment.

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