Tuesday, July 01, 2008

PM to unveil Vision 2020 for development of northeast

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will unveil the Vision 2020 document aimed at the socio-economic development of the northeastern region in New Delhi on Wednesday.

"The prime minister will formally release the Vision 2020 document at a special meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday and the governors and chief minister of the eight northeastern states are expected to attend the meeting," said A.K. Mangotra, principal secretary of the Tripura government.

North Eastern Council (NEC) chairperson and minister for Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER) Mani Shankar Aiyar will preside over the meeting.

The Vision 2020 document was prepared after three years of consultations, taking into consideration the views of 50,000 people of the northeast and top experts and institutions across the country. It was finalised at the two-day plenary session of the NEC in Agartala in May.

NEC, a 37-year-old regional planning body for the northeast, entrusted the task of preparing a draft of the document to the New Delhi-based National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) in 2005.

"At independence, the northeastern region was among the most prosperous regions of India. Sixty years on, the region as a whole, and the states that comprise it, are lagging behind the rest of the country in the most important parameters of growth," the vision statement says.

The central master plan for road connectivity in the region should be completed by 2015 and sub-divisional headquarters should be connected through all-weather roads and national highways must be upgraded to four lanes, says the vision text.

It also emphasises that projects under construction must be completed by 2010 and more trains must be introduced to the region. A detailed plan is required for connecting all state capitals in the region with a broad-gauge rail line by 2020.

An important component of the people's Vision 2020 is to achieve a high level of human development, particularly education and health.

"Much of the requisite investment will have to come from the private sector and the government would have to create the enabling environment for private initiative in economic activities," the vision document adds.

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?id=d157a553-4c83-4589-9573-6800f4afb254&&Headline=PM%26nbsp%3bto+unveil+Vision+2020+for+northeast

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