Major investments in northeast, says Planning Commission member

Shillong, June 7: Planning Commission member B.K. Chaturvedi Friday said the government has made major investments in the northeastern states in all infrastructure but there are still large gaps that need to be covered.

"Large investments have been made in this area. The share of investments of infrastructure as a share of GDP has increased from four per cent to eight per cent in the last eight years. However, there are large gaps which need to be covered," he said, while delivering the keynote address at the national seminar on "Inclusive Development: Bridging the Gap" at St Edmunds' College here.

He was referring to development in rail, road, airport and inland waterways.

Stating that the share of investments of infrastructure has led to growth in several northeastern states, Chaturvedi said, "States like Sikkim, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland have some of the lowest poverty levels."

Admitting that the pace of development in the affected areas by "Left Wing Extremism" has "not been very good", Chaturvedi stressed on the need to stimulate growth and provides improved access to different groups.

"Our record of inclusiveness during the last two decades, as growth rates picked up, has been a mixed one. While there were positive development in several areas, including reduction in poverty, increased- rural consumption and increased access to health and education, there have been several indicators which are not as impressive," he said.

IANS