Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was scheduled to have a meeting with Chief Ministers (CMs) of all northeastern (NE) states Monday to review infrastructure and development projects, including railway connectivity with Bangladesh, leading Indian newspapers reported.
As per the schedule, Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Sikkim were to meet the Prime Minister to review ongoing infrastructural and development projects, their progress and problems being faced by many of them, the reports said.
Citing official sources, the reports mentioned that Chief Ministers like Manik Sarkar (Tripura) and Mukul Sangma (Meghalaya) were likely to draw the Centre's attention towards the need to improve border trade with Bangladesh besides improving connectivity through the neighbouring country.
India has already decided to set up a new railway line between Tripura capital Agartala and Akhaurah in Bangladesh and construct a bridge over river Feni to get access to Chittagong international port, 72 km away from Tripura's border town Sabroom, 135 km south of Agartala.
The Prime Minister, who represents Assam in the Rajya Sabha, was expected to stress the need for early completion of the projects, especially those related to road, railway, telecommunication and hydroelectricity.
A number of projects in the northeast are facing environmental hurdles while progresses of some are slow due to insurgency problems.
Kidnapping for ransom of those involved in implementing infrastructure projects is very common in the region which often hampers their timely completion.
The meeting was likely to pave way for early completion of the major projects which are delayed by many years due to financial constraints.
Another project, connecting Mizoram through Myanmar's Kaladan river, is also being implemented but running behind schedule.
The Prime Minister was also likely to take stock of the progress of construction of roads along Sino-Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh.
