Shillong: The North Eastern Council (NEC) under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) has funded Rs 863 crore for the Rs 1255.10 crore Agartala-Akhaura railway project, the first railway project between northeastern states and Bangladesh.
NEC Secretary K. Moses Chalai said on Thursday that of the Rs 863 crore, the council has already released Rs 708.73 crore.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has funded the remaining amount for the 12.24 km Agartala (Tripura)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) railway line that was virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday.
The DoNER Ministry funded for the 5.46 km railway line in the Tripura territory while the MEA provided funds for the 6.78 km stretch from Nischintpur (Tripura) to Gangasagar in Bangladesh.
The NEC Secretary said that being the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the northeastern region, the Council has been instrumental in its development.
Its achievements in the last 50 years after its inception in 1972 have been noteworthy in the areas of infrastructure development, education, health and agriculture, he said.
Chalai said that being a planning body for the northeastern region, NEC has set up the North East Resource Centre (NERCEN) with objectives to promote the use of remote sensing and satellite imagery, web-enabled GIS-based tourist and health information system, and gap assessment in road connectivity.
The official said that NEC has been a major player in establishing many projects like the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal, North East Police Academy in Shillong, North Eastern Electrical Power Corporation Ltd in Shillong, North Eastern Region Agriculture Marketing Corporation in Guwahati, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology in Itanagar, Regional Institute of Paramedical and Nursing Sciences in Aizawl etc.
The NEC Secretary also said that a total of 11,432 km of roads have been constructed with NEC funding in the northeastern region so far.
(IANS)
