Lok Sabha Question No. 1927 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-13
Subject: Development of Infrastructure in North Eastern States
Ministry: DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION
Asked by: Saikia Dilip

## Government of India

## Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No.  1927

To be answered on Monday, March 13, 2023/Phalguna 22, 1944 (Saka)

## QUESTION

## Development of Infrastructure in North Eastern States

 1927. SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:

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

- (a) the  details  of  the  projects  for  the  development  of  infrastructure  in  the  North Eastern States including Assam;
- (b) the amount allocated for each of the project;
- (c) the time by which these projects are likely to be completed; and
- (d) the number of projects pending for approval for the development of the States' infrastructure?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (d) Fifty  five  non-exempted  Central  Ministries/  Departments  are  mandated  to spend  at  least  10%  of  their  Gross  Budgetary  Support  (GBS)  for  Central  Sector  and Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the North Eastern Region (NER) including Assam for the overall development of the region. Under 10% GBS, an expenditure of Rs.3.84 lakh crore has been incurred by these Central Ministries/ Departments since financial year 2014-15.The  year-wise  details  of  Budget  Estimates,  Revised  Estimates  and  Actual Expenditure under 10% GBS since financial year 2014-15 is given in Table 1 below:

Table 1: Budget Estimates (BE), Revised Estimates (RE) and Actual Expenditure under 10% GBS

| (Rs. in crore)   | (Rs. in crore)   | (Rs. in crore)    | (Rs. in crore)     |
|------------------|------------------|-------------------|--------------------|
| Year             | Budget Estimate  | Revised Estimate  | Actual Expenditure |
| 36,108           | 27,359           | 24,819            | 2014-15            |
| 29,088           | 29,669           | 28,674            | 2015-16            |
| 29,125           | 32,180           | 29,368            | 2016-17            |
| 43,245           | 40,972           | 39,753            | 2017-18            |
| 47,995           | 47,088           | 46,055            | 2018-19            |
| 59,370           | 53,374           | 48,534            | 2019-20            |
| 60,112           | 51,271           | 48,564            | 2020-21            |
| 68,020           | 68,440           | 70,874            | 2021-22            |
| 76,040           | 72,540           | 47,785*           | 2022-23            |
| 4,49,103         |                  | 4,22,893 3,84,426 | Total              |

Source: Statement 11 of Union Budget of various years

Note: Actual Expenditure figures are provisional and subject to vetting of Ministry of Finance.

* Total GBS expenditure of all 55 Ministries/Departments for the current year 202223 up to the end of Third Quarter i.e. 31.12.2022.

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

Road connectivity: Major ongoing Capital Road Connectivity projects in NER include 4 laning 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 (upto December 2022). 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  these 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  for  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  are  providing services.

Power  connectivity : Ministry of Power  has  also undertaken power  generation (hydro/thermal) projects since 2014 in the North Eastern States. Further, the transmission and distribution network has also been strengthened in the North Eastern States.  03  Hydro  Electric  Projects  (above  25  MW)  totaling  to  740  MW  have  been undertaken  in  the  North  Eastern  States.  A  Gas  based  Power  Project  in  the  State  of Assam viz. Lakhwa Replacement Power Project of 69.755 MW capacity (7 x 9.965MW) by M/s Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd. was commissioned on 14.02.2018. Further, Government of India has launched various schemes to enable States including North Eastern States to strengthen their power distribution systems by providing funding for  creation/  augmentation  of  sub-transmission  &  distribution  infrastructure  along  with metering  and  IT  enablement  of  distribution  infrastructures  etc.  For  strengthening  of transmission  network  in  the  North-Eastern  Region,  Inter-State  Transmission  projects have been undertaken, which include new transmission lines, extension/upgradation of existing substations, augmentation of transformation capacity, reconductoring of transmission  lines  etc.  Further,  Power  Grid  Corporation  of  India  Ltd.  (PGCIL)  is executing  two  major  Intra  State  power  transmission  and  distribution  schemes  viz.  (i) North  Eastern  Region  Power  System  Improvement  Project  (NERPSIP)  for  Six  States (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland) for strengthening of the Intra-State Transmission and Distribution Systems (33kV and above) sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs.6,700 crore; and (ii) Comprehensive Scheme for Strengthening of Transmission and Distribution System in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs.9,129.32 crore.

The Central Ministries/ Departments concerned sanction the infrastructure development projects  after  following  due  appraisal  and  approval  process  as  per  the  applicable scheme  guidelines  of  the  respective  Ministry/  Department.  The  scheduled  date  of completion of the projects differs from project to project depending upon the size of the project, its location, sector, etc.  The progress of the sanctioned projects is monitored by the  Ministries/  Departments  concerned  though  various  mechanism  including  physical inspection of the project site etc.

In addition, various infrastructure projects under the Schemes of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) and North Eastern Council (NEC) are being implemented in North Eastern States including Assam. During the last eight years (2014-15 to 2021-2022), 1,195 projects worth Rs.15,375 crore have been sanctioned under the schemes of MDoNER and NEC in the NER States including Assam.

The project proposals submitted by the NE States are considered for funding under the Schemes of MDoNER/NEC as per the applicable scheme guidelines and the allocations available  under  the  schemes.  These  proposals  are  considered  for  approval  as  and when  they  are  received  in  the  Ministry/NEC,  under  a  well  defined  process  within  a reasonable  amount  of  time.    Normally,  the  target  date  of  completion  of  projects sanctioned under various schemes implemented by MDoNER & NEC is 2-3 years from the date of sanction.

*****