Task Force Formed to Boost Northeast Economic Corridor

SHILLONG: In pursuance of the consensus reached during the 72nd plenary meeting of the North Eastern Council (NEC), held at Agartala in December 2024, the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) constituted eight High-Level Task Forces (HLTFs), each led by the Chief Minister of a North Eastern (NE) State. The HLTF on the North-East Economic Corridor (NEEC) is convened by the Chief Minister of Mizoram, with the Union Minister for DoNER and the Chief Ministers of Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur as members. The mandate of the HLTF on NEEC, inter alia, includes assessing existing economic infrastructure and the investment ecosystem in the Northeast; identifying gaps; and formulating strategies to attract investment in the region. Three meetings of the HLTF on NEEC have been held.

The projects sanctioned under the PM-DevINE scheme are executed by the concerned Implementing Agencies (IAs) of the State Governments, and the primary responsibility for monitoring these projects lies with the respective State Governments and IAs. However, the Ministry of DoNER also monitors projects through Field Technical Support Units (FTSUs), Project Quality Monitors (PQMs), Third-Party Technical Inspection Agencies (TPTIs), and inspections conducted by officials of the Ministry of DoNER and the North Eastern Council (NEC), as well as during review meetings.

State Governments formulate and implement flood management and anti-erosion schemes in line with their priorities, while the Union Government supplements these efforts. To strengthen structural flood management measures, the Union Government implemented the Flood Management Programme (FMP) during the XI and XII Plans for providing central assistance to States for works related to flood control, anti-erosion, drainage development and anti-sea erosion. This programme subsequently continued as a component of the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP), a centrally sponsored scheme for the period from 2017–18 to 2020–21, and was further extended up to 2025–26. In the last 10 years, under the schemes of the NEC and the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR), 24 projects related to flood control and anti-erosion, worth Rs 345.74 crore, have been sanctioned in the Northeastern States.

The sanctioned infrastructure projects are onboarded on the PM-Gati Shakti portal for improved planning. On-the-ground monitoring is carried out through site visits and inspections undertaken by officials of the NEC and the Ministry of DoNER. Third-party quality control is also conducted through the engagement of PQMs, TPTIs and FTSUs. This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Dr Sukanta Majumdar, in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday (PIB).

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