Assam CM demands Centre's special treatment for North East region

Referring to a report of the World Bank and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion on Wednesday where Assam has been clubbed in the ‘jump start’ category, Gogoi said that the new NDA dispensation’s policy is mainly responsible for the lopsided industrial development in the region.

“The NDA Government at the Centre immediately after coming to power has put the North East Industrial Investment and Promotion Policy in suspended animation which has stopped the inflow of investments in the State. Moreover, withdrawal of Special Category status and delinking of several welfare schemes from the Central assistance has again put a spanner on the ‘ease of doing businesses’ in the region,” Gogoi said.

“The abolition of many schemes and pattern of funding by the Centre are responsible for not so impressive growth of the State in the last one year,” he said. The Ministry of DoNER which has been set up to expedite the fledging development process in the remote and land-locked North-East has fallen flat as the Centre failed to allocate required funds for the region, Gogoi said.

The Assam CM further said that North-East is geographically and economically backward and unless the Centre accords special importance, the region will continue to be lagging behind.

Gogoi urged the Centre to formulate policies conducive to large-scale investments and reducing regional disparities.

“I have been all along pressing the demand for a special status for the North East in NITI-Aayog and other similar fora, but yielded no results till now”, Gogoi said.

The Assam CM requested the Centre to pay special treatment to the North East by not merely paying lip sympathy but by rendering concrete action to fulfil its promise and help North East catch up with other developed parts of the country.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)