STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: The appointment of a ‘Brand Ambassador’ for Northeast is under consideration and the name will be finalised soon. Besides, Delhi will host a mega North-East festival showcasing culture, tourism potential and exclusive traits of the eight States of North-East region. The event planned for the month of April will, among others, involve participation of tour operators, travel agents, cultural groups, professional houses from different streams and members of cinema and television fraternity.
This was disclosed by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh while speaking to representatives of North-East organisations and student associations with whom he spent Makar Sankranti which is celebrated as ‘Bihu’ festival in North-East.
Singh stated that within two months of his taking over the Ministry of DONER, a North Eastern Council (NEC) meeting attended by Chief Ministers and Governors was held in Shillong after a gap of 10 years and a process of regular interaction with 39 Members of Parliament from North-East was initiated with a luncheon meeting with them. All the pending projects are being reviewed to be expedited and exclusive hostels for North-East students studying in Delhi are being proposed in South campus of Delhi University and Hindu College premises, he added.
Referring to funds that have remained unutilised due to various reasons, Singh informed that he has made a written request to the Finance Ministry to allow us to utilise funds which had not been spent in the stipulated time period.
In addition, Singh said, beginning from January this year, during each fortnight eight Union Ministers will be touring one of the eight States of North-East by rotation for an on-the-spot assessment of various developmental works. This is in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special focus to bring North-East at par with the rest of the country by giving impetus to growth, development and youth empowerment, he stated.
The participants at the get-together narrated to Singh their impressions about the current requirements and priorities in different States of North-East and also offered feedback about the problems faced by North-Eastern people living in Union Capital and other parts of the country.
Secretary (DONER) Vijay Kumar, Resident Commissioners of North-East States in Delhi, Secretary (DoPT) Sanjay Kothari, EO B.P Sharma, Joint Secretaries and senior officers of DONER and DoPT also participated.