Union Minister Shekhawat reiterates govt’s aim to ensure development in NE states

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• Sep 17, 2021 | moderator

TEZPUR: Union minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat today said that the government is working to bring the northeastern states to the fore and ensure development in region.

While addressing the media in Tezpur, Shekhawat reiterated the government’s perspective to kickstart development in all the eight north eastern states.

The minister also said that with northeast in the fore, the idea is to take the entire nation forward.

He restated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to strengthen the north eastern region by ensuring progress in the projects implemented by all the ministries.

“Prime Minister Modi had initiated to review the progress of schemes and projects in the north eastern states and therefore the union ministers visit frequently to review the work of their respective ministries,” said Shekhawat, adding that the aim is to make NE the growth hub.

Shekhawat today visited the North Eastern Regional Institute of Water and Land Management (NERIWALM) in Tezpur and held a meeting with its Director and other staff.

“Here at NERIWALM, we got the opportunity to review the work of all the organisations working under the Jal Shakti ministry,” he said.

The union minister was accompanied by Assam minister of Housing, Urban Affairs and Irrigation Ashok Singhal.

Shekhawat informed that he had a 12-hour meeting with the ministers and stakeholders of all the eight north eastern states regarding water conservation, swacchata, jal sansadhan, etc. and discussed the concerns at length.

On Thursday, Shekhawat chaired a one-day conference of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) ministers of north eastern states on Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Guwahati.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and ministers-in-charge of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) from north eastern states along with senior officials from each state also attended the conference.

The Union government has allocated Rs 9800 crore as central grant for north eastern states under Jal Jeevan Mission.

This enhanced allocation to provide tape water connections to households in north eastern states, is expected to boost the development of the region.