The North Eastern Council (NEC) has released Rs 79.53 crore for development projects across the region in October, including funds for the rehabilitation and strengthening of the 46.08-km Chokpot-Kharukol road in Meghalaya, which is expected to benefit 78 villages and more than 15,000 residents.
Meghalaya received the highest allocation of Rs 26.56 crore among the eight northeastern states, with the major share directed towards the road project under the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme-Roads (NESIDS-Roads).
Support was also extended for the establishment of a Multi-Disciplinary Training-cum-Resource Centre in Shillong, an NEC statement said.
The NEC, functioning under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), released funds under its Schemes of NEC (SoNEC) and NESIDS-Roads, supporting initiatives spanning connectivity, rural infrastructure, agriculture, enterprise development, education and cultural preservation.
Assam received Rs 14.79 crore for a range of connectivity, livelihood and heritage-related initiatives which included rural road links such as Mangaldoi-Mazikuchi and the Bogamati-Umananda link via Naobandha and Khaagrabari, an RCC bridge in Udalguri, a 20,000-litre dairy processing plant at Patacharkuchi, support for Deori tribal weavers in Lakhimpur and the Sepoy Mutiny War Memorial at Hailakandi.
Arunachal Pradesh was allocated Rs 11.18 crore, primarily for strategic road connectivity in border and remote areas.
Sikkim received Rs 15.51 crore for strengthening organic agriculture and veterinary healthcare, including the upgradation of district veterinary hospitals in Pakyong, Soreng, Mangan and Gyalshing into modern polyclinics.
Nagaland received Rs 7.99 crore for initiatives covering enterprise development, trade facilitation, mineral-resource assessment and road connectivity.
Tripura was allocated Rs 3.50 crore for establishing the Agar International Trade and Research Centre to strengthen commercial value chains in the agarwood sector. Support was also extended to research documenting the contributions of tribal freedom fighters.
In Manipur and Mizoram, funding supported road projects, a bridge over the Leimakhong River, infrastructure for the Barak Heritage Festival in Senapati, facilities at Oriental College in Imphal West, a jaggery processing centre at Phulpui and a market at West Phaileng.
NEC releases Rs 79 crore for projects across NE states
