Lok Sabha Question No. 177 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: Infrastructural Projects in NER
Ministry: DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION
Asked by: ALOK SANJAR

## Government of India

## Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region

## LOK SABHA

Unstarred Question No. 177

To be answered on Wednesday, July 18, 2018/Ashadha 27, 1940 (Saka)

## QUESTION

## Infrastructural Projects in NER

## † 177.  SHRI ALOK SANJAR:

Will  the  Minister  of  DEVELOPMENT  OF  NORTH  EASTERN  REGION  be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of infrastructure related major projects started by the Government in various States of North-Eastern Region during the last three years;
- (b) the  details  of  funds  allocated/spent  and  the  present  status  of  these  projects State/project-wise;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  any  mechanism  to  monitor  implementation  of these projects and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether these projects have been delayed; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## The Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region [Dr. Jitendra Singh]

(a) and (b) As  per  the  information  received  from  infrastructure-related  Ministries, major  infrastructure  projects  taken  up  in  the  North-Eastern  Region inter  alia include Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for the North-Eastern Region (NER) at an estimated  cost  of  Rs.5336.18  crore;  Broad  Gauging  &  Capital  Connectivity  Rail Projects;  Comprehensive  Scheme  for  Strengthening  of  Transmission  &  Distribution Systems  (CSST&DS)  in  Arunachal  Pradesh  and  Sikkim  at  an  estimated  cost  of Rs.4754.42  crore;  Bharatmala  Pariyojana;  North  East  Road  Sector  Development Scheme (NERSDS) etc. Under Bharatmala Pariyojana, road stretches aggregating to about 5301 km in NER have been approved for improvement. Out of this, 3246 km road length  has  been  approved  for  development  of  Economic  Corridor  in  North  East.  To augment railway network, 7 railway projects consisting of 3 new lines and 4 doublings have been taken up during last three years and current year which are at various stages of  execution.  For  providing  cross-border  rail  linkage,  foundation  stone  for  AgartalaAkhaura Rail-Link was laid in July, 2016 which will connect the existing Agartala station in Tripura to Akhaura Station of Bangladesh Railways. The cost of Indian portion of the project  is  Rs.580  crore,  which  is  being  borne  by  Ministry  of  DoNER  while  the Bangladesh portion is being funded by Ministry of External Affairs as grant assistance.

19 new waterways (11 in Assam, 5 in Meghalaya, 1 each in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram & Nagaland) have been declared as National Waterways (NWs) North East. Moreover, 100% subsidy is being provided by Ministry of Shipping under Central Sector Scheme for development of IWT infrastructure in North Eastern States.

In order to augment tele-connectivity, BharatNet is being implemented to create network  infrastructure  for  providing  Broadband  connectivity  to  all  Gram  Panchayats (GPs)  (approx.  2,50,000)  in  the  country  including  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  of  North Eastern Region. Under Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP) for NER, an agreement has been signed with BSNL to install 2817 mobile towers for providing mobile coverage in 4119 uncovered villages of Arunachal Pradesh and two districts of Assam with an estimated cost of Rs.2258 crore. Further, Cabinet has approved revised proposal for provision of mobile services on 2G+4G technology for installation of 2173 mobile towers in 2374 uncovered villages and along National Highways for an estimated cost of Rs.3911 crore.

A  New  Greenfield  Airport  has  been  constructed  at  Pakyong  (Gangtok)  at  a revised cost of Rs.553 crore suitable for operation of ATR-72 type of aircraft with Apron, terminal  building  of  100  pax.  Moreover,  Regional  Connectivity  Scheme  (RCS-UDAN) has been launched to provide connectivity to unserved and under-served airports and promote  regional  connectivity  by  making  the  airfare  affordable  through  Viability  Gap Funding (VGF).

(c) Implementation/progress of infrastructure projects are monitored/reviewed periodically by the concerned administrative Ministries at appropriate level. In addition, Ministry  of  Development  of  North  Eastern  Region,  being  the  nodal  Ministry  for  North East, coordinates with various Central Ministries/Departments in respect of the development  and  welfare  schemes/programmes,  implemented  by  them  in  the  North Eastern  Region.  Inter-Ministerial  Committees  (IMCs)  have  also  been  constituted  for effective implementation and time-bound completion of major infrastructure projects.

(d) and (e) Completion of infrastructure projects depends  on many factors  including land acquisition, forest and environmental clearances, reduced working season etc. In addition, inadequate number of offers in the bidding process in some cases also leads to delay in implementation.

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