The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah addressed the 71st Plenary Session of the North Eastern Council in Shillong recently.
Background:-
In his address, Shri Amit Shah said that the last 10 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi have been the most significant for the development of the Northeast in the 75 years since independence.
About North Eastern Council:-
The North Eastern Council (NEC) is not a constitutional body.
It is a statutory organization.
It was established under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971, as amended in 2002.
Initially, NEC was an Advisory Body for the North Eastern Region (NER).
Now NEC is mandated to function as a Regional Planning Body for the North Eastern Region.
The Union Cabinet, in June 2018, approved the proposal of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) for the nomination of the Union Home Minister as ex-officio Chairman of the North Eastern Council (NEC).
The Cabinet also approved that the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of DoNER would serve as Vice Chairman of the Council. Zonal Councils
The Council comprises Governors and Chief Ministers of constituent States and three members nominated by the President.
While formulating the regional plans for the North Eastern Region, it is mandated to give priority to schemes and projects, benefitting two or more States, provided that in the case of Sikkim, the Council shall formulate specific projects and schemes for that State including the review of implementation of such project and schemes.
To fulfil its mandate, the NEC has been implementing various projects in different sectors.
Over the years, NEC has achieved the construction of 10500 km. of roads, supported the installation of 695 MW of power plants, constructed transmission and distribution lines, improved in infrastructure of 5 major airports and constructed of new airport in Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh.
