Budget 2014 : North-East Infrastructure Boost
North East is tagged as the land of the rising sun. This time the sun has shined on the North- Eastern region very brightly with the announcement of the union budget 2014-15. The finance minister has announced Rs 37000 crore for the NHAI(National Highway Authority of India), out of which Rs 3000 crore is set aside for road projects in the North East. Furthermore, Rs 1000 crore is allocated for North-Eastern railways to boost its connectivity. This, is expected to perk up the infrastructure development in the region significantly. Add to the growth of the region, the government will set up Sports Management academy across India, including in Manipur, for which Rs 200 crore has been set aside, as per the Mars Orbital Program, scheduled for September 24.
Infrastructure development stands as one of the key factors for growth and development, which cannot be ruled out. Holding this phenomenon true, the new government had assigned a budgetary amount for construction of roads in the North East. With the aid of multilateral development banks (World Bank and Asian Development Bank), the new government intends to promote regional connectivity, by building roads in the North Eastern states and connecting them to Myanmar. Experts further quote that such a move will help conducting trade with neighbouring nations like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos and, thus, help the economy to bounce back.
Add to it, the Railway Minister, had recently proposed a whooping amount of Rs 5,116 crore for the northeast in the Railway Budget, giving an edge to the entire region. As many as seven trains are proposed, which includes AC express train, offering a direct connectivity from Arunachal Pradesh to Delhi. Furthermore, there are other new lines in the region, namely-Harmuti-Murkongselek and Balipara Bhalukpong sections, Dudhnoi-Mendipathar new line and Lumding-Badarpur-Silchar gauge conversion, which are yet to be commissioned. Such measures will also give tremendous boost to the state capital connectivity projects in the North East region.
