Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday took a swipe at the previous state governments of North East region and said that the people of the region used to feel neglected as welfare policies were framed in high rise buildings of Delhi.
"The previous governments tried to frame policies for the North East in high rise buildings and attempted to fit it into the region unsuccessfully. After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014, this system was changed. Now the welfare policies for the people of this part of the country are framed taking the views and sentiments of people into consideration," the Prime Minister said while addressing the people of Tripura virtually on the occasion of releasing a sum of Rs 709 crore as the first instalment of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G) housing schemes for 1.47 lakh beneficiaries.
He also said, "The overall development of the country was seen in fragments and through a political lens, our Northeast felt neglected."
Lauding Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and his government for his people-centric schemes, the Prime Minister said, "Under the leadership of Biplab Kumar Deb radical changes have been brought in the functioning of the government. After the formation of the double engine government development initiatives have been fast-tracked. The youth has started working with new energy. This government reflects the honesty and devotion towards the people of Tripura."
On the PMAY scheme, the Prime Minister congratulated the beneficiaries who received new houses and interacted with some of them regarding their life and livelihood.
He said, "Tripura is the first state in the country that completed 100 per cent COVID-19 vaccination for those above 45 years of age. Similarly, performance in the above 18 categories is also satisfactory."
The Prime Minister also spoke about the role of women in society and how the Centre is laying emphasis on empowering women.
"After 2018, 26,000 new SHGs were formed. This way, the rural women are getting access to good income and gradually the share of women in the house is getting expanded", said the PM.
He also recollected the contribution of indigenous people of the North East in the national freedom struggle and paid his homage to Indian tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda.
Speaking in the programme, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb sincerely thanked the Central government and the Prime Minister for granting special privileges for Tripura and Assam under the PMAY scheme.
"If someone has a GI sheet roofed house then the beneficiary gets naturally excluded from the scheme but due to climatic conditions of Tripura and Assam, people naturally stay in houses roofed by GI sheets. After the Prime Minister and the Union RD Minister Giriraj Singha were informed about the matter, special amendments were made for Tripura and Assam only. I am grateful that today 1.47 lakh people are getting new houses under the scheme," said Deb while speaking on the occasion.
Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh and Tripura RD Minister Jishnu Dev Varma, Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik and other cabinet members also attended the function from different parts of Tripura through video conferencing.
( With inputs from ANI )
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