PM pitches for development model for North-east

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday batted for a new development model for North- eastern states to enable harnessing of "collective strength" of the region along with the neighbouring countries as part of the Centre's 'Act East Policy'. 

During a visit to Assam, he said the development of the North-eastern and eastern states of the country is a matter of priority for his government.

"There must be a new development model for North-eastern states so that the collective strength of the region along with the neighbouring countries of Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia can be achieved," Modi said, after dedicating the Brahmaputra Cracker Polymer Ltd (BCPL) and Numaligarh Refinery Ltd's wax plant to the nation.

"There must be a balanced and all-round development of the country. It cannot be that the western part of India progresses, but the eastern and North-eastern parts lag behind. In that case, the nation's development will remain incomplete," he said.

The Prime Minister said that the inauguration of the two projects would lead to a 'Rashtriya Vikas Yatra' and "bring immense joy to the people of the state as well as to the rest of the country".

"If the then PM had the opportunity to inaugurate the projects 25 years ago, new industries and employment opportunities would have come up and there would have been all-round development and happiness in the state," he said.

"If the projects had been completed 25 years ago, the second generation of people would have reaped benefits from these units. An entire generation has lost the benefits of these projects," the PM said.

Modi said his government had evolved a new development model for the North-east and strengthening of the railway infrastructure of the region was the first step in that direction. "Lack of connectivity has hampered development of the region. Strengthening of the railway infrastructure will connect Assam and the North-east with the rest of the country," he said. 

Modi said in the past, projects were not planned in time and, even after their conception, they were not completed within the stipulated period. "It seems it is my luck to complete all good work and it is my government's effort to ensure that all incomplete and good projects, irrespective of who began it, are completed within the scheduled time," he said.

"I have taken the initiative and make a special effort to complete stalled projects aimed at the welfare of people and development of the nation. I talk to the chief secretaries of the states to ensure that pending projects are completed at the earliest," Modi said.

He added: "If India needs to progress, we have to ensure that all projects are completed within the stipulated time." 

The Prime Minister said that the two projects would help in the setting up of many small factories in Assam and youths in the state should take advantage of the government's 'Start- up India, Stand up India' initiative along with the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.

"Assam's youth is intelligent and capable and should come forward to set up industries by taking advantage of the incentives under these schemes," he said. 

He said while the importance of the plastic industry is well-known, its production in the country is low. "There is a potential for setting up of plastic industry in the region and youths should come forward to start enterprises in this sector," the PM said.

Modi reiterated his government's commitment to skill development of youths in the region and ensure an increase in their earning power.

He also said his government was committed to the principle of cooperative federalism and both the Centre and the state government would work together to ensure the all-round progress and development. The BCPL was conceptualised to implement the Assam Gas Cracker project, an outcome of the historic Assam Accord signed in 1985.

The BCPL is a central public sector enterprise under the department of chemicals and petrochemicals and the project was approved by the Centre on April 18, 2006.

The Rs 10,000-crore BCPL plant can manufacture 2,80,000 tonnes per annum of polymer products, which will spur growth of new downstream plastic processing industries in the North-east, besides reducing dependency on polymer supply from other parts of the country, officials said.

It has generated direct employment for 700 people and indirect employment for around 2,500 people in the project complex. Moreover, it will generate nearly one lakh indirect employment opportunities through the setting up of various downstream plastic processing industries and ancillaries in the region, they said. The BCPL complex is situated at Lepetkata and is spread over 3,000 bighas of land. The feedstock for the project will be natural gas and naphtha, which will be supplied by Oil India Ltd, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and NRL.

Numaligarh Refinery Ltd's 50,000 metric tonne (MT) wax plant, which too was dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister, was commissioned in March 2015 at a cost of Rs 676 crore and is the country's largest wax producing unit with indigenous technology developed by the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun, Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and NRL.