AGARTALA/SHILLONG: The eight northeastern states would seek the full help of the North Eastern Space Application Centre (NESAC) to monitor various developmental projects, flood control, irrigation, tourism, afforestation, and agricultural work in the region.
A top official of the NESAC said that for the past several years the northeastern states have been using the technologies of the space application centre, situated in Meghalaya's Umiam.
"An important meeting of the NESAC will be held in Agartala on December 22 to review the various works and outcomes of the NESAC. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) chairman Dr. S.omanath would attend the meeting," the official told IANS.
The Union Home Minister is the President of the NESAC Society, while the ISRO chief is the Chairman of the NESAC Governing Council.
In a bid for the proper, effective, and timely implementation of numerous projects and schemes, the central government has been monitoring their progress and accuracy through satellites, drones, and mobile apps, the official said.
He said that several hundred projects were identified in over 2,000 different locations across the eight states, and these have been geo-tagged through satellite images and mobile apps.
According to the official, the Union Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) in collaboration with NESAC has developed a project monitoring mobile applications.
The NESAC was established in 2000 as a joint initiative of the Department of Space and the Shillong-based North Eastern Council (NEC).
The NESAC review meeting on December 22 is a part of the 72nd Plenary Session of the NEC, to be held in Agartala on December 20-21.
Amit Shah, during the previous NEC meetings, also urged the chief ministers to make full use of facilities at the NESAC for flood control, irrigation, tourism, afforestation, and agriculture work in the region.
The home minister had said that the Centre is committed to making the northeast flood- and drug-free within the next few years. He has issued an appeal to keep North-eastern states free from the use of single-use plastic for environmental protection.
"Work has also been done to promote the use of technology in administration by using the NESAC," the home minister had said.
It was decided in the earlier meetings that each state in the northeast should appoint a nodal officer for NESAC in their respective states to maximise and better utilise the facilities available at the space application centre.
In the Plenary Session of the NEC, DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region) Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, governors and chief ministers of eight northeastern states, and top officials of the central government and all northeastern states will attend.
The NEC plenary session was supposed to be held on August 31 and September 1, but it was postponed due to the devastating floods in Tripura.
An official of the Tripura Planning Department said that the progress of various ongoing and proposed development projects and other important matters were scheduled to be discussed in the NEC meeting. (IANS)
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