Lok Sabha Question No. 5466 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: NESIDS-OTRI
Ministry: DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION
Asked by: Shri Ravindra Shukla Alias Ravi Kishan

## Government of India

## Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. †5466

To be answered on

Wednesday, March 25, 2026/Chaitra 04, 1948 (Saka)

## QUESTION NESIDS-OTRI

†5466. Shri Ravindra Shukla Alias Ravi Kishan:

Will the Minister of DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION be pleased to state: (a)  the  manner  in  which  the  completion  of  the  Shillong-Tura  road  has  succeeded  in reducing the travel time from twelve hours to six hours; (b) the current status of the Rs. 12 crore heliport project at Thenzawl in Mizoram under the  North-East  Special  Infrastructure  Development  scheme  and  Other  Than  Road Infrastructure (NESIDS-Development Scheme OTRI) component; (c) whether the Government has successfully integrated Artificial Intelligence technology in all the Gram Panchayats of Tripura by the year 2026 and if so, the details thereof; and (d) the manner in which the Field Technical Support Unit (FTSU) has improved physical

- monitoring of road projects and ensuring timely completion thereof?

## ANSWER The Minister of State of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region [Dr. Sukanta Majumdar]

- (a) The improvement and widening of the Shillong-Nongstoin-Tura Road corridor in the State of Meghalaya has significantly reduced travel time by upgrading the existing sub-standard stretches into a two-lane carriageway with paved shoulders along sections of NH-106 and NH-127B. Earlier, the corridor had narrow carriageways, sharp curves, steep  gradients,  and  narrow  bridges,  which  caused  frequent  congestion  and  slow vehicular  movement.  With  the  widening  of  the  road  and  improvement  in  geometric design,  vehicles  can  now  move  smoothly  in  both  directions,  thereby  increasing  the average travel speed.

(b) The  project  'Development  of  Heliports  and  Helipads  in  Thenzawl,  Mizoram' under the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme - Other than Roads Infrastructure  (NESIDS-OTRI)  was  sanctioned  on  13.10.2025  at  a  cost  of  Rs.  12.00 crore. The State Government of Mizoram has floated the tender in respect of the said project for selection of the executing agency.

(c) The Ministry of Panchayati Raj launched SabhaSaar, an AI-enabled voice-to-text meeting  summarization  tool,  on  14 th August,  2025.  The  SabhaSaar  platform  enables structured  capture  and  summarization  of  Gram  Sabha  proceedings  and  supports monitoring  of  key  parameters  such  as  frequency/  type  of  Gram  Sabha  meetings  and participation. SabhaSaar has been made available to all States/UTs, inter-alia including Tripura,  and  Gram  Panchayats  are  progressively  adopting  it  for  routine  Gram  Sabha and Panchayat meetings.

As part of the pilot implementation, all 1,194 Gram Panchayats of Tripura were encouraged  to  use  the  tool  for  the  Special  Gram  Sabhas  on  15 th August  2025,  and 1,047 Gram Panchayats successfully used SabhaSaar on that day.

(d) The  MDoNER  has  taken  several  steps  to  ensure  monitoring  and  timely completion  of  the  projects  sanctioned  by  the  Ministry  in  NER.  The  MDoNER  has engaged Field Level Technical Support Unit (FTSU) in all 8 NER States to interact with State Planning  Departments and  also  the  project  implementing  agencies,  to  maintain and  update  database  of  the  MDoNER  projects,  inter-alia,  including  road  projects,  to submit regular progress reports and provide feedback to MDoNER about the execution of projects. The FTSUs also carry out the field inspection of projects sanctioned under the Schemes of MDoNER, inter-alia, including road projects.

In addition, the projects are periodically monitored and inspected by the officials of MDoNER and North Eastern Council (NEC). Regular review meetings are conducted by  the  Ministry  with  the  State  Governments  of  NE  Region  to  review  the  progress  of implementation of projects. The Project Quality Monitors/Third PartyTechnical Inspection  Agencies  (PQM/TPTI)  have  been  introduced  to  strengthen  the  monitoring mechanism of the MDoNER.

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