Centre to identify 10 backward districts in northeast

The Centre will identify 10 districts in the northeast, which are at the bottom of the ladder on governance and development parameters, within a week.

Chairing a high-level meeting with the officials of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and the North Eastern Council (NEC) on Wednesday, Union minister Jitendra Singh said the aim of the exercise is to bring these districts at par with other developed districts in terms of the saturation level.

The Ministry of DoNER will, within a week, identify 10 such districts in the eight northeastern states, which are lagging behind the most on governance and development parameters, he said.

Singh, the Minister for DoNER, said the main focus will be to accelerate "ease of living" in these districts through a smooth delivery of goods and services.

He clarified that these 10 districts will be different from the 14 aspirational districts of the northeast chosen earlier on the basis of 49 key indicators, of which the status of healthcare was an important component.

Singh said the aspirational districts conceptualised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi were a major shift in the political approach to governance after seven decades of the country's independence.

Also read: ISRO to help development projects in Northeast, says Minister Jitendra Singh

He said it was also a shift to a more scientific and objective assessment of development activities, besides bringing about a sea change in the work culture at all levels of governance.

Singh reiterated that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will assist development projects in the northeast through space technology and contribute by offering optimum utilisation of satellite imaging and other space technology applications for a better accomplishment of infrastructural projects in the northeastern region.

He said some of the important projects on which work is under progress are the mapping of the forest gap areas, expansion of land area for horticulture development, identification and rejuvenation of wetlands and diversion of floodwater, assessment of bamboo resources for livelihood and border disputes management.

The minister also instructed the officials to prepare a comprehensive database of the development projects in each of the eight states that were carried out in the last seven years and showcase the marked improvement in all the sectors in comparison to the earlier 63 years.

Check out DH latest videos: