Lok Sabha Question No. 1989 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-13
Subject: Transport Facilities in NER
Ministry: DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION
Asked by: Raju Bista, Saikia Dilip

## Government of India Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No.  1989

To be answered on

Monday, March 13, 2023/Phalguna 22, 1944 (Saka)

## QUESTION

## Transport Facilities in NER

 1989. SHRI RAJU BISTA & SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:

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

- (a) the  details  of  the  works  done  in  the  North  Eastern  Region  so  far  for  the connectivity w.r.t. HIRA (Highway, I way, Railway, Airway);
- (b) the initiatives taken by the Government to make road, air and railway travel more accessible  for  the  people  of  North-Eastern  region  particularly  the  areas  along  the international border; and
- (c) the progress made so far to connect the capitals of all the North-Eastern States through rail network?

## ANSWER

## The Minister of  the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region [Shri G. Kishan Reddy]

- (a)  to  (c)  Several  infrastructure  development  projects  have  been  taken  up  by  the concerned  Ministries  and  Departments  of  the  Central  Government  in  North  Eastern Region (NER), which,  inter-alia,  include:

Road connectivity: Major ongoing Capital Road Connectivity projects in NER include 4Laning of Dimapur-Kohima Road (62.9 km) in Nagaland; 4 laning of Nagaon bypass to Holongi (167 km) in Arunachal Pradesh; Alternate two-lane Highway from Bagrakote to

Pakyong (NH-717A) (152 km) in Sikkim; 2 laning of Aizawl - Tuipang NH-54 (351 km) in Mizoram; 4 laning of Imphal - Moreh section of NH-39 (20 km) and 2-laning of 75.4 km in  Manipur.  A  total  of  4121  km  of  road  projects  have  been  completed  by  Ministry  of Road  Transport  &  Highways  in  NER  in  the  last  7  years  (including  2021-22,  upto December2022).  Projects  of  length  7545  Km  amounting  to  Rs.1,05,518  crore  are ongoing.

Air connectivity: In the North Eastern Region 17 Airports have been made operational. Recently  Donyi  Polo  Airport  (erstwhile  Holongi  Airport)  has  been  inaugurated  in Arunachal Pradesh. The development of new Greenfield Airports at Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh; Dibrugarh, Guwahati and Silchar Airports in Assam; Imphal Airport in Manipur; Barapani Airport in Meghalaya and Agartala Airport in Tripura, etc are ongoing.

Rail connectivity: New projects of length 864.7 km amounting to Rs.19855 crore have been sanctioned in NER since 2014-15 till date. Presently, 20 projects, for new lines as well as doubling, costing Rs.74,485 crore for 2,011 km length falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region  are  at  different  stages  of  planning/  approval/  execution.  Out  of  which 321  km  length  has  been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of  Rs.26,874  crore  has been incurred.

Waterway  connectivity :  River  Brahmaputra  from  Dhubri  (Bangladesh  Border)  to Sadiya (891km) was declared as National Waterway-2(NW-2) in 1988. The waterway is being developed with fairway of required depth and width, day and night navigation aids and  terminals.  The  facilities  created  and  planned  would  cost  Rs.461  crore  during  5 years (2020-2025). River Barak was declared as National Waterway-16 (NW -16) in the year 2016. It connects Silchar, Karimganj and Badarpur in Cachar valley of Assam with Haldia and Kolkata ports through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) Route. The facilities created and planned would cost Rs.145 crore during 5 years (2020-2025).

Telecom  connectivity :  Department  of  Telecommunications  has  also  undertaken several projects in  the  North  Eastern  States  for  strengthening  telecom  connectivity  in the region, which, interalia , include (i) Mobile Services in uncovered villages in Assam, Manipur, Mizoram,  Nagaland,  Tripura, Sikkim, and  Arunachal  Pradesh  (National Highways only) and seamless coverage along National Highway; (ii) Mobile connectivity in Meghalaya and along National Highways on 4G Technology; (iii) Mobile connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh and 2 Districts of Assam; (iv) Bharat Net and Wi-Fi Connectivity for Village Panchayats in North Eastern Region; and (v) Hiring of 10 Gbps International Bandwidth  for  Internet  Connectivity  to  Agartala  from  BSCCL,  Bangladesh  via  Cox Bazar.  In  the  North  Eastern  States,  1,358  towers  covering  1,246  villages  have  been installed and providing services.

In addition, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) is implementing various schemes/packages viz. North East Special Infrastructure Development  Scheme  (NESIDS),  Non-Lapsable  Central  Pool  of  Resources  (NLCPR) Scheme, Special Packages of Assam [Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Dima Hasao Autonomous  Territorial  Council  (DHATC)  and  Karbi  Anglong  Autonomous  Territorial Council (KAATC)], Hill Area Development Programme (HADP), Social and Infrastructure Development Fund (SIDF), Schemes of NEC (North Eastern Council) and North  East  Road  Sector  Development  Scheme  (NERSDS),  for  the  development  of North Eastern Region. Under these developmental schemes/packages,  1,350 projects worth Rs.15,867.01 crore, including connectivity projects, have been sanctioned during the financial years 2014-15 to 2021-22.

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