Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the “Destination North East -2020″ through video conferencing on September 27, 2020. The Union Home Minister is also the Chairman of the North-East Council.
On this occasion, Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region Development (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pension, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, and Chief Ministers of the eight North Eastern States were also present.
Shah, in his address, said, “North East, rich in natural beauty, folk culture and art, is fully capable of becoming a major centre of world tourism. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the North East region will emerge as one of the favourite tourism and business destinations of India.”
The Union Home Minister said the ‘Destination North East-2020 festival’, which runs till September 30, 2020, aims to introduce various cultures of the country to each other along with the tourist destinations of the North East and through this the whole of India will also get familiar with the vibrant and diverse culture of the North East.
Shah said that he has seen the tourist places of many states and countries but the beauty of the North East is unparalleled. ” Northeast is the jewel of India; without it the Indian culture is incomplete,” he said. While inviting the people for next ceremony to be held in his parliamentary constituency Gandhinagar, Shah said, “This will make the people of Northeast familiar with the culture of Gujarat and the people of Gujarat will be introduced to the culture of the North-East.”
Shah said, “Peace in the North East is very important for the economic development, promotion of tourism and employment in the region. The Northeast was once in the news due to terrorism, blockade, violence but now it is known for development, tourism, organic farming, industry and start-ups. This has been possible due to PM Narendra Modi ji’s leadership in the last 6 years.”
The Union Home Minister also said that a lot of work has been done to establish peace in the Northeast under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shah said that after becoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the North East more than 30 times, most by any Prime Minister since Independence, according to a PIB release.
Shah said that the development is not possible without proper funds. Earlier, plans were made for the development of North-East but the amount allocated for them was very less. The 14th Finance Commission increased the allocation for the Northeast by 251 per cent to Rs 3,13,375 crore, whereas pervious government in 13th Finance Commission had earlier given only Rs 89,168 crore, he said. Shah also said that adopting an all-inclusive and all-encompassing model of development, Modi Government has decided to spend 21 percent of the budget of the North-East Council on the backward districts, villages and deprived communities.
Shah said that the Modi govt has made a huge effort in the direction of linking the North Eastern states amongst themselves and connecting the region with the rest of India by rail, road & air links. Under this, 6 railway projects worth Rs 15,088 crore have been completed. Also, Rs 553 crore will be spent on the development of airports and about Rs 10,000 crore on 19 road projects of 869 km length, he added.
The Union Home Minister called for making the Northeast a tourism and industry hub and an IT and organic farming hub to increase the Northeast’s participation in the country’s GDP by 2024 and make it an important part of the Government of India’s Act East policy. Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, eight states of the North East region are moving forward on the path of development and North-East will soon become a new engine of development for the country.