Mmanipur CM urges mechanism to drive investments into North-East

New Delhi, Dec 9 (UNI) The Centre should evolve a suitable mechanism for directing investments into the under-developed North Eastern states, Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh said today.

Addressing the 52nd National Development Council (NDC) meeting here today, Mr Singh said the benefits of the liberal policies adopted by the Centre were yet to reach fully to the relatively backward Northeastern states.

During the first five years of the Eleventh Plan, administration and infrastructure should to be strengthened to enable the Northeastern states to respond appropriately to liberalisation, the Chief Minister said.

He said the hilly states have immense potential for horticulture which, if exploited to the potential with proper planning and effective delivery systems, can become a major tool for achieving growth in the region.

Delivery of farm inputs like seeds, fertilizers and pesticides was needed to be strengthened and allied facilities like irrigation should be expanded, he pointed out.

Mr Singh said the region still lags far behind the nation in the field of mechanisation of farm sector. Credit availability was the main reason behind the anomaly, he observed.

The Chief Minister called for speedy completion of the railway projects taken up particularly in the Northeastern states. ''There is an urgent need for new tracks to be laid to increase railway links for greater coverage and easy accessibility,'' he said.

He said the Centre should accord priority to establish area specific large and medium scale industries in states like Manipur.

This will, apart from providing avenues for resource mobilisation also mitigate the unemployment problem to a considerable extent.

He said with the change in the funding pattern of the Centre from this financial year, loan amount of 10 per cent are generated from the open market. The funding pattern of the state government may not permit it to raise resources from the open market and the burden would threfore fall upon the States.

The NER States would not be in a position to obtain loans for the State Plan projects as it is already burdened with the resources to be generated for funding the State Plan.

The Chief Minister asked the Centre to provide all the funds to the state in the form of 100 per cent grants.

UNI BKS YA DS1530