PROCEEDINGS OF THE 65TH PLENARY OF NORTH EASTERN COUNCIL (Only decisions & Technical Sessions) ON 26TH & 27TH MAY, 2016 AT THE CONVENTION CENTRE, PINEWOOD HOTEL, SHILLONG ****** Sl. No Contents Page No Part A. Technical Sessions of the 65th Plenary of the NEC 1 – 8 Part B. Discussion on the Agenda Items in the Plenary Session 9 – 13 Part C. Decisions taken in the 65th Plenary of NEC 14 – 16 Part D. Plenary Session graced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister 17 – 27 Part E. Actionable Points Sector-wise culled out from the 28 – 60 Speeches of the Hon’ble Members of the Council Part F. Programme of the 65th Plenary of NEC 61 – 65 Part G. Annexures 66 – 149 I Address of the Hon’ble Prime Minister 67 – 70 II Address of Chairman, NEC 71 – 76 III Secretary’s Report 77 – 133 IV List of Participants 134 – 149 V Speeches of Hon’ble Members, NEC 150 – 239 i) Dr. Mukul Sangma, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Meghalaya 151 – 155 ii) Shri V. Shanmuganathan, Hon’ble Governor, Meghalaya 156 – 163 iii) Shri Kalikho Pul, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Arunachal 164 – 168 Pradesh iv) Shri J.P. Rajkhowa, Hon’ble Governor, Arunachal Pradesh 169 – 185 v) Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Assam 186 – 195 vi) Shri P.B. Acharya, Hon’ble Governor, Nagaland and Assam 196 – 199 vii) Shri Okram Ibobi Singh, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Manipur 200 – 205 viii) Shri V. Shanmuganathan, Hon’ble Governor, Manipur 206 – 209 ix) Shri Lal Thanhawla, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Mizoram 210 – 214 x) Lt. Gen. Nirbhay Sharma, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM 215 – 219 (Retd.) Hon’ble Governor, Mizoram xi) Shri T.R. Zeliang, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Nagaland 220 – 223 xii) Shri Pawan Chamling, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Sikkim 224 – 228 xiii) Shri Shriniwas Dada Saheb Patil, Hon’ble Governor, Sikkim 229 – 232 xiv) Shri Tathagata Roy, Hon’ble Governor, Tripura 233 – 236 xv) Shri Manik Sarkar, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Tripura 237 – 239 Part H Any other items with the permission of the chair 240 Proceedings of the North Eastern Council Plenary held on 26th and 27th May 2016 at the State Convention Centre, Shillong PART A TECHNICAL SESSIONS In connection with the 65th Plenary meeting of the North Eastern Council, 3 technical sessions were held. In these technical sessions various Central Ministries made power point presentations highlighting their programmes for the North Eastern Region, achievements and future plans. The following Ministries made presentations:- (a) Ministry of Agriculture (b) NE Space Application Centre, Department of Space (c) Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Deptt. of Telecommunication) (d) Ministry of Human Resource Development (e) Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (f) Ministry of Tribal Affairs (g) Ministry of Commerce & Industries (h) Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance (i) Ministry of Inland Waterways (j) Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (k) Ministry of Food Processing (l) Ministry of Power (m) Ministry of Tourism (n) Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (o) Ministry of Home Affairs (p) Ministry of Railways (q) National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (r) Ministry of External Affairs Copies of power point presentations have been sent to the States for perusal and record. Since the presentations were very voluminous, the hard copies are not attached in the proceedings. Some of the highlights of the presentations and discussions that took place are summarized in the following pages – 1 Technical Session I The 65th NEC Plenary held on 26th and 27th May 2016 at Shillong began with a Technical Session. Technical Session I held on 26th May 2016 (morning) was on the subjects listed below. The session was chaired by Shri C.K. Das, Member NEC. 1. Issues on Organic Farming, presented by Smti Rani Kumudini, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, GOI, New Delhi: The presentation was on the Ministry’s mission on organic value chain development. The project strategies of the mission include identification of potential crops, assistance to the States in marketing, certification training, packaging branding etc. To take advantage of the mission, the States have to form State Level Apex Committee and hence to identify a state nodal agency. Sikkim is already taking the lead in this matter. The programme is commodity specific. All the NE States were requested to take advantage of this scheme as most of the produces in the states like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland etc. are organic by default. During the discussion, States requested for proper handholding from the Ministry. In this regard, GI patenting of the indigenous produces would be helpful. 2. Application of Space Technology, presented by Dr P.L.N. Raju, Director NE Space Application Centre (NESAC), Umiam, Shillong: The presentation was about the current activities of NESAC in terms of remote sensing applications, natural resource management, disaster management and capacity building of the state agencies etc. The technology developed by the Centre is being used by the States in NER in term of hazard risk vulnerability assessment, telemedicine, satellite communication, weather prediction, forest mapping, wasteland mapping, land erosion mapping, crop assessment etc. It was mentioned that the reports of NESAC are available through web portal for easy accessibility. Flood Early Warning System developed by NESAC is being widely used in Assam. NESAC also promised help in monitoring of all NEC/ MDoNER projects. On a query of Nagaland, it was stated that NESAC also have ground water mapping. All NE States were requested to take the advantage of NESAC for development planning. 3. Issues on Telecommunications, presented by Shri Nitin Jain, DDG,DOT, GOI: The presentation was on the telecom network of the NE Region. It was revealed that the rural teledensity in the NE Region is now comparable to the All India level. Mention was made about the comprehensive Telecom Plan prepared by the Ministry for the NER. The recent opening of the alternate internet gateway via Agartala was also highlighted. It was stated that by 2018 all village Panchayats of the NE Region will be linked with internet either through optical fibre Network 2 (Bharat-net) or through satellite/ radio link. States like Tripura observed that due to poor BSNL connectivity ambitious programmes like DBT, expansion of banking correspondent’s scheme are suffering. It was agreed that there is urgent need for improving connectivity with proper bandwidth in the NER. 4. Issues on Human Resource Development, presented by Shri B.K.Pandey, Economic Adviser, Higher Education, GOI: The presentation was on the higher education scenario in the NER and the initiatives taken by the Ministry. It was revealed that NER has more number of institutes of higher learning in terms of the total population as compared to rest of India. The Gross Enrolment Ratio is satisfactory for the region. High literacy rate coupled with favourable gender parity ratio and young population will give rich demographic dividend for the region. It was revealed that all the NE States are having at least one Central University. Besides, one IIT and one IIM are also in the region. It was further revealed that several institutes of the region are occupying top positions in the newly introduced National Institutional Ranking Framework. Mention was made about Ministry’s scheme for establishment of model degree colleges, community colleges, upgradation of polytechnics and ‘Ishan Uday’ scholarship scheme. The State Governments of the NE States were requested to take advantage of various schemes of the Ministry. House also expressed opinion that NER needs more high quality institutes with proper infrastructure and faculty. 5. Issues on Skill development, presented by Dr. Sapna Poti, National Skill Development Corporation, New Delhi: The presentation was about the strategy adopted by the newly created Ministry for fulfilling the Skill India Mission. Mention was made about role of various agencies like NSDA, NSDC, NSQF, DGET, IIE, NIESBUD in the skill mission and entrepreneurship development programme. Skill gaps study of NER done by NSDC was also mentioned. Hospitality, Tourism, Handloom & Handicrafts, Food Processing, Sports are the rising sectors for the NER. Status of implementation of PMKVY was discussed. Importance of grooming local Training Providers was stressed. Government of India proposes to set up one multi skill centre in each district of NER. 40 centres have already been set up. Modernization of ITIs was also stressed. The efforts made by IIE, Guwahati in cluster development in gems and jewellery etc were highlighted. NE States should take advantage of the various schemes of the Ministry. 6. Issues on Tribal Development, presented by Dr. Bala Prasad, MD TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GOI: The presentation was on various activities of the Ministry and the schemes available under TRIFED. Ministry strives for all round development of Tribal population through protection of legal rights, preservation of cultural tradition, skill development, etc. TRIFED concentrates on quality upgradation of tribal produce, storage, transportation, marketing and training. They have their own 3 showrooms and organize artisan melas. Marketing of minor forest produce is a major scheme under TRIFED which is relevant in NER in terms of Bamboo, Medicinal Plants etc. In the bamboo sector, TRIFED already have engaged in technical upgradation and marketing. However, there is a need to delink bamboo from the current categorization as timber in the Forest Act. NE States should take benefits from collaboration with TRIFED. 7. Issues on Agriculture Processing and Exports, presented by Shri S.S Nayyar, General Manager, APEDA, New Delhi: In the presentation, the various activities taken by APEDA in NER were briefly narrated. Besides providing marketing support for exports, they give grant for infrastructure development also. APEDA helps the entrepreneurs through their Agro Exchange Portal and Market Reports. They are also associated as nodal agency for National Programme for Organic Production.