Guwahati, July 01: Narendra Modi as Prime Minister has visited the Northeast around 60 times in 9 years which could be more than the total number of visits by all his predecessors put together, said Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, MoS PMO, DoPT, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh on Saturday.
“The result is a miraculous transformation in the region and Northeast being cited all over as Modi government’s development model,” Dr Singh said while inaugurating the “Purvoday” Conclave showcasing the incredible transformation in Northeast during the last nine years.
“Nine years ago, North East was in the news for wrong reasons like insurgency, clash, etc. Youths were confused and disturbed. Now the situation has changed dramatically with the initiative of PM Narendra Modi. Northeastern youth are now part of India’s mainstream journey,” he added.
The Union Minister said PM Modi has visited the Northeast more around 60 times in the last nine years, while his Council of Ministers also visited the Northeast more than 400 times. And if there were no COVID the PM might have visited 100 times, he said.
Interacting with the media, Dr Jitendra said, “During the last eight years, from 2014 to 2022, 1,350 projects worth Rs.15,867 crore have been sanctioned under the schemes of the Ministry of DoNER and NEC in the North-Eastern States. The Armed Forces Special Protection Act (AFSPA) has been completely removed from Tripura and Meghalaya, and majorly removed from Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh barring some areas. Further, he added The Law & Order situation has been vastly improved as there has been a reduction of 63% in the incidents from 8700 cases during the period 2006-14 under UPA to only 3195 cases during the period of 2014-22, during the NDA-led Government of India.”
The Modi government has spent about 3.37 lakh crore in the Northeast region from 2014-15 to 2021-22 under 10% GBS and is expected to reach Rs. 5 lakh crores with the allocated expenditure for 2022-23 and 2023-24, Dr Singh said, adding, “The Modi government has initiated the PM-DevINE scheme in the budget 2022-23 as a 100% Central Sector Scheme with a total outlay of Rs. 6,600 crores for the period from 2022-23 to 2025-26 for the holistic development of the north-east region. Construction of Roads in the northeast has more than doubled from a meagre 0.6 km of national highway being laid per day under the UPA government to 1.5 km per day between 2014 and 19.”
