"Northeast getting transformed to become India's growth engine": Jyotiraditya Scindia

New Delhi [India], December 18 (ANI): Union Minister for the Development of North Eastern Region, Jyotiraditya Scindia lauded the rapid growth in the North East under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and highlighted the significant improvements in infrastructure.

In an interview with ANI, he acknowledged the complexity Manipur is dealing with but rejected the notion that it arose in recent years saying that the situation has persisted for over 25-40 years. He further emphasised the central and state government is committed to finding a solution amid violence in Manipur.

"The central government is seized of the matter. Manipur is not a situation that has occurred in the last year the last five years or the last ten years. Manipur is a situation that has been there for the last 25 to 40 years. So it's not something that has been created by this government. We are talking to all factions and we are trying to bring about an amicable solution. The central government along with the state government is committed to finding a solution," he said.

The Union Minister for Communications said that the number of conflict incidents that have happened in the last 10 years compared to the period before has fallen by almost 80 per cent in the region.

"It's unfair and incorrect to say that the region is mired in conflict. The Northeast has never been so peaceful in its tenure as it has been under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The amount of incidents that have happened in the last 10 years compared to the period before has fallen by almost 80 per cent or so. The number of insurgents that have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of growth in India in this region has grown by almost about 70 to 75 per cent," he said.

"The number of agreements and accords that have been signed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have been path-breaking. And most importantly, the amount of development and progress that has occurred in this region has been nothing short of astounding," Scindia added.

The Union Minister further highlighted significant improvements in infrastructure in the Northeast region, including the construction of over 16,000 kilometres of national highways and the expansion of railways, airports, and waterways.

"I just conducted a road show in Mumbai for the North East Investor Summit where I had the Chief Minister Tripura and the Chief Minister Meghalaya with me on stage and the impactful speeches that they delivered in terms of development that have happened under their leadership in their respective states is nothing short of exemplary. In the last 10 years, we have built almost five and a half thousand kilometres of national highways. A region that has only 10,000 kilometres of national highways today has 16,000 kilometres of national highways," he said.

"In 60 years what was built? 60 per cent of that has been built in 10 years. 45,000 kilometres of Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sarak Yojana have been built in the last 10 years for 50,000 crores. That is as far as highways are concerned. If you look at railways, the pace of building railway tracks was roughly about 6.5 kilometres a month. It has now grown to over 19 kilometres a month. In the last 10 years, 2,000 kilometres of railway tracks have been built," Scindia added.

The Union Minister said that in his last portfolio in the area of civil aviation, the Northeast states had nine airports and today the region has 17 airports.

"In the northeast three to four states are already connected by railways and we will connect the balance in the next two to three years. 19 projects are ongoing railways, close to about 88,000 crores worth of projects. Similarly, in my last portfolio in the area of civil aviation, we had nine airports. Today we have 17 airports. We had thousands of air traffic movements per week to the northeast in 2014. Today we have 1990 traffic movements in the northeast which means it's almost more than doubled. We had a single waterway for transport in the northeast. Today we have 20 waterways for transport in the northeast," he said.

Scindia also announced that the second semiconductor factory in India will be established in Assam, marking a major milestone for the region.

"Development and progress has grown by leaps and bounds and that's why the first semiconductor fab that's coming up is ~ in the northeast is in Assam. Second in India and the first in the northeast with the Tata Group and investment of close to 27,000 crores. In the last six months, we have held three road shows leading up to the main investor summit which we are planning to hold sometime in March, or April next year. We've held road shows in Bengaluru, in Chennai and yesterday in Mumbai. And through the three road shows, we've almost garnered close to about 45,000 crores in terms of MOUs and letters of intent that people are very eager to invest in the North East," he said.

"So the North East has transformed is the growth engine of India. India is growing at a very fast clip between six and a half to seven and a half per cent per year. But the North East states are growing between nine and a half to 11 per cent per year. And therefore when Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that the North East will be the growth engine of India that transformation has already taken place on the indian landscape," the Union Minister added.

When asked about the global developments, particularly along the northeast border with China, where massive infrastructure projects are underway, Scindia said, "Today, Prime Minister has taken the last villages across India, which were always known as the last villages of India, the last development will take place there, whether it's in the northeast, whether it's Himachal, whether it is Uttarakhand, whether it is Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, across our borders. And he has renamed them as the vibrant villages and the first villages of India. And for the first time, in the history of India, any Prime Minister has committed that every central government minister will visit the vibrant villages of India.""For example, 700 ministerial visits have taken place just to the North East. And therefore, we are very clear that development will start from those first vibrant villages and then go to the core. We are looking at the vibrant villages across the North East states. We are looking at 100 per cent saturation of any one single issue that we will take up and we are committed to that," the Union Minister said.

Speaking on the 'One Nation One Election' Bill, Scindia said that the bill is the push of the people, not the government.

"This is not the push of the government...it is the push of the people of the country...every month somewhere or other there is an election, and there is an election code of conduct. This is the people's wish and hope to stop the election code of conduct and useless spending of money. End the elections once and for all and devote yourself to their service for 5 years. The Prime Minister is engaged in realising the hopes and aspirations of the people of the country. Be it the matter of abolishing Article 370, be it the matter of One Nation One Ration Card, be it the matter of Women's Reservation in Parliament and be it the matter of One Nation One Election," he said.

"The Prime Minister is laying such a foundation that the coming generations will remember his tenure and work. The ideas which are being put forward to take the country forward at a fast pace from an inflexion point will set an example for the whole world," he added. (ANI)