Seventeen Assam DoNER Projects Stalled with 0% Progress

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) has been repeatedly asking the NE states to expedite the implementation of ongoing projects under various schemes, and with good reason. It is seen that, in the case of Assam, there are 136 ongoing projects, but the state has shown 0% progress in 17 projects as of December 31, 2025.

The ministry’s concern is further underlined by the fact that the current fiscal year, 2025-26, is the last year of the ongoing period of the 15th Finance Commission.

According to the MDoNER’s report on the progress of ongoing projects (December 2025), of the 136 ongoing projects in Assam, the physical progress made in 57 projects is between 75% and 100%, 32 projects are between 50% and 75%, and that of 30 projects is between 0% and 50%. The physical progress of the remaining 17 projects is 0%, which means they are yet to get off the ground.

Of the 17 projects showing 0% progress, 6 projects are under the NESIDS-OTRI scheme, 1 project is under NESIDS-Roads, 2 are under NEC schemes, and 8 are from the special development packages (SDP) category. SDP schemes are meant only for Sixth Schedule areas in the state.

The report states that MDoNER has, as of December 2025, cumulatively taken up a total of 3,679 projects for the 8 NE states under different schemes. Of this, 2,542 projects have been completed and 1,038 are ongoing projects. Additionally, the Ministry has foreclosed 99 projects due to various reasons.

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) was constituted, first as a department in 2001 and then as a ministry in 2004, basically for better coordination between the state governments of the North Eastern Region and the ministries/departments of the Government of India. It is the only ministry with territorial jurisdiction and functions to coordinate developmental efforts in the North Eastern Region (NER).

The Ministry implements various schemes for the development of the North East Region viz. North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS-Roads), North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme Other Than Road Infrastructure-NESIDS (OTRI), Schemes of North Eastern Council (NEC), PM-DevINE scheme and Special Development Packages (SDP).

While MDoNER approves or sanctions the projects, the state governments and specific central agencies implement the projects.

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