New Delhi, Dec 28,2020: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that North Eastern States once known for separatism and insurgency but in last six and half years many insurgent groups in these States have given up arms to join the mainstream of the country and the violence in these States have gone down substantially.
Inaugurated several development projects at Imphal on the last leg of his two day tour of Assam and Manipur, he further said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and State Chief Minister N Biren Singh have steered Manipur out of bandhs and blockades on the path of development.
“Modi ji is committed to the development of the entire North-East and the trust of the people here will never be compromised, Mr Shah said, adding that CM Singh has done remarkable work in the last years.
Noting that there has not been a single shutdown in the last three years, the Home Minister said that it proved that people flourish under the rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Chief Minister has led Manipur on the path of development under the leadership of the Prime Minister, and has given a new identity to Manipur.
“Today many important projects are being started in a single day, including a Medical College at Churachandpur, Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) and Information Technology Special Economic Zone (IT-SEZ) at Mantripukhri will serve as a benchmark for the entire North East which will connect the youth of Manipur with the world, the State Police Headquarters and Smart City Integrated Center at Imphal will help in advancing Smart Governance, Mr Shah added.
After the creation of IT-SEZ, the GDP of Manipur will increase by Rs 4,600 crore annually and there will be employment generation for 44,000 people. With the establishment of the medical college, the youth of Manipur will come out as doctors and the health system of the state will be strengthened, he further added.
Referring to the impetus given to the NE States, the Home Minister said that this region has never received such attention earlier and PM Modi has specially visited the North-East more than 40 times in the last six-and-a-half years, and has visited all the states, indicating his priority towards this region.
He also said that the Prime Minister granted Manipur the Inner Line Permit, which is the biggest achievement of the Central Government since the state of Manipur came into being.
Referring to the Thoubal Multipurpose Project, Mr Amit Shah said ‘the scheme was launched in 2004 during Atal ji’s time, but nothing happened till 2014 and the project remained on paper. In 2016, Modi ji restarted it by giving Rs. 462 crore and today this project that will irrigate 35,104 hectares is on the verge of completion’.
Shri Shah said earlier projects were abandoned after performing ground-breaking ceremonies and work is now being done under the leadership of Modi ji, to inaugurate all projects whose foundation stones were laid by previous governments.
The Union Home Minister said that earlier only six percent people in the state had access to drinking water, but under the Jal Jeevan Mission, tapped water supply has reached 33 percent households in the last three years from six percent.
