Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's efforts in facilitating peace across the North East region by saying that under the leadership of PM Modi, the North East has gone ahead on the path of development.
Participating in the golden jubilee celebrations of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Meghalaya's Shillong, Home Minister Amit Shah said, "Under PM Modi, the North East has gone ahead on the path of development. Peace has prevailed in the region."
He said, "Earlier, a lot of demands were made to repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). Now, nobody needs to make demands. Staying two steps ahead, the government is taking initiatives to repeal AFSPA."
"Today, 60 per cent of Assam is AFSPA-free. 15 Police station limits in 6 districts of Manipur are now AFSPA-free. In Arunachal Pradesh, only one district remains covered in AFSPA. In Nagaland, it has been lifted from 7 districts & in Tripura & Meghalaya, AFSPA completely lifted," Home Minister added.
Amit Shah was speaking at the golden jubilee function of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, Nagaland Chief Minister Nephiu Rio, Union Tourism and DoNER minister G Kishan Reddy and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
The Council was formally inaugurated on 7th November 1972. NEC has played a key role in the socio-economic development of the North Eastern region and has lent support to various infrastructure projects and other development initiatives across all states of the region. It has helped create valuable capital and social infrastructure, especially in critical gap areas of sectors including education, health, sports, water resources, agriculture, tourism, and industry, among others.
The North Eastern Council (NEC) is under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Development of the North-Eastern Region (MDoNER).
Established by an Act of the Parliament in 1971 (Act No. 84 of 1971), NEC was formally inaugurated on November 7, 1972, at Shillong, Meghalaya, marking the beginning of a new chapter of concerted and planned endeavour on the part of the Government of India for the North Eastern Region. Originally consisting of the seven states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura, Sikkim was included as the eighth member state through the NEC (Amendment) Act, 2002 (68 of 2002), an official statement said.
'Some of the most iconic Institutions of the North Eastern Region such as the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Imphal; North East Police Academy (NEPA), Shillong; North East Region Institute of Water and Land Management (NERIWALM), Tezpur; North Eastern Space Application Centre (NESAC), Shillong; Dr Bhubaneswar Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI) Guwahati etc., have been set up with NEC support.
( With inputs from ANI )
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