The North-East - Projects and Development

[sunny20rocky]

Shillong, Aug 9 (IANS): The biggest hurdle in implementing infrastructure projects in the northeastern States is the lack of competent contractors, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) official said on Wednesday.

"One of the biggest challenges for the region is to attract big construction companies to complete the projects within a time-frame," Hun Kim, ADB's country director for India, said.

The bank is funding the Northeast Capital Cities Development Investment Programme in Agartala, Aizawl, Kohima, Gangtok and Shillong. The $200,000 project was sanctioned in 2009.

In Assam, the bank has funded close to $1 billion. One of the projects is Assam's Power Sector Enhancement Investment Programme (facility concept), where the bank approved $200,000 in 2009.

Hun was here to discuss issues and challenges in developing and executing infrastructure of projects in the landlocked region.

The meeting was also attended by officials of the central government, states, World Bank, International Finance Corporation and International Fund for Agricultural Development.

"We need competent contractors. But because of the geographical location of the region and distance, it is difficult to attract competent contractors to the region," Hun said.

Moreover, he said factors such as the hostile terrain and scarcity of human resources and contribution of the states towards the projects were some of the other challenges.

However, he said multilateral developmental agencies, including the ADB, were constantly trying to build capacity of the project states to help bring in competent contractors for the ongoing projects.

He said externally-aided projects was a new phenomenon for the region and only during the past five years, multilateral developmental agencies entered the region largely with the assistance of the central government.

Hun said that once the region's infrastructure was developed, it would help build a favourable investment climate, which would eventually lead to overall development of the region.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/...=aug0912/at043

[sunny20rocky]

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Governor General (Retd) J J Singh reviewed the progress on the Greenfield Airport project at Hollongi near here on Wednesday. Civil aviation commissioner Tape Bagra briefed the governor about the action taken for construction of the airport, a project under the Prime Minister's special economic package to the state, sources said.

The governor advised the commissioner and his department to take necessary steps to complete the project at the earliest. He expressed unhappiness on the delay in completion of one of the vital infrastructure projects of the state.

Emphasizing its importance for the people of the state, especially during medical emergencies, Singh urged all concerned to address the issues related to the project first. The governor also advised the officials to ensure that the local population affected by the project is given appropriate compensation as per rules. He added that he would closely monitor the progress of the project.

Earlier, Bagra apprised Singh of the challenges in the implementation of the project and the steps taken for the early restoration of the regular helicopter services to ameliorate the air connectivity between Guwahati and Itanagar and other areas too, sources added.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/15429412.cms

[sunny20rocky]

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation has decided to set up a Rs 5,000-cr urea manufacturing unit in North Tripura district in joint venture with a private company, an ONGC official said.

Khobal has been selected as the site for the project considering its proximity to Khobal gas field from where natural gas (hydrocarbon) would be supplied, the official said.

Last year, ONGC had discovered huge gas reserves at Khobal near the Assam-Agartala National Highway (NH-44).

The commissioning of the project will not only help meet Tripura’s demand but also the urea requirement of the entire North-East region. Besides, fertilisers could also be exported to neighbouring Bangladesh, ONGC sources said.

Last year, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar had urged ONGC CMD Sudhir Vasudeva to set up a fertiliser manufacturing company in Tripura to ensure optimum utilisation of natural gas, sources said.

Following the request, the ONGC had invited expressions of interest for setting up a manufacturing unit and at least three big investors had come forward in this regard.

The oil and gas major is already setting up a 727-MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) thermal power plant in the State through ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC) at Palatana in Gomati district.

The ONGC has started supplying gas to the project on an experimental basis and yesterday the turbine of one unit was made operational on an experimental basis.

The first unit of the power project (363 MW) is likely to generate power by next month.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle3762909.ece

[sunny20rocky]

A few days ago, Bhupinder Prasad, Chairperson, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), visited Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine in Myanmar, to inspect the port development work there.

In March 2009, the Ministry of External Affairs appointed IWAI as the consultant to a port development project at Sittwe. This followed a framework agreement between the India and Myanmar in April 2008 to develop Sittwe port on the mouth of the Kaladan river as an alternative IWT (inland water transport ) route to move goods to and from India’s North eastern region through Mizoram.

Work in phases

The project, known as Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project, is being funded by the Ministry of External Affairs and has three components. First, construction of a port at Sittwe, undertaking dredging and installing navigational aids to make the Kaladan river navigable over its 158-km long stretch from Sittwe to Paletwa in Chin in Myanmar and construction of an IWT terminal at Paletwa and building six barges of 300-tonne capacity each to facilitate transportation of goods along the stretch.

The second component involves upgrading the highway from Paletwa to Myeikwa near the Indo-Myanmar border in Mizoram covering a distance of 125 km. The entire stretch will be within the Myanmar territory. The third component presupposes construction of a 100-km long road from the border to Lawngtlai in Mizoram, which is located on the National Highway 54.

On-time delivery

IWAI is responsible for the implementation of the first component estimated to cost Rs 342 crore. The detailed project report (DPR) prepared by Rites in 2003 was revised and updated to suit IWAI’s requirements. IWAI entrusted the job to Essar Projects India Ltd in May 2010, while the actual work started in December.

“The progress of port development and other associated work at Sittwe and other places is satisfactory,” Prasad told Business Line on her return from the project site recently. “Nearly 30 per cent of the job is over and, hopefully, our portion of the job will be complete by December 2013. The Government of Myanmar as well as the local people are extending full cooperation. We’re very happy,” she added.

It has been learnt that Myanmar has provided the required land free of cost for port development work. The requirement, however, has not been much so far — about six hectares in Sittwe and another three hectares or so at Paletwa.

The IWAI Chairperson sounded bullish about the project, more so because India’s bid to transport goods to the North-East through Bangladesh has not been much of a success.

“Although we have a 40-year-old protocol on transit and trade with Bangladesh, our bid to have transit facility to move cargo by barges to Assam, Tripura and other parts of the North-East through Bangladesh met with limited success. The protocol route is used almost entirely for bilateral trade dominated by vessels carrying Bangladesh flag and hardly anything for the transit trade,” she said. “We, therefore, critically need an alternative transit facility for our people in the North-East.”

Benefit for North-East

It was felt that the diversion of North-East bound cargo through Sittwe would benefit the North-Eastern states, especially Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur.

Prasad was particularly emphatic about the movement of containerised cargo on the proposed route. “This will be in line with the current international practice,” she said. “Also, goods transported in containers will be fully protected from safety and security point of view.”

But the problem is that the issue of movement of containers is not incorporated either in the bilateral agreement or in the DPR and for this reason the Ministry of External Affairs is yet to take a call on it, although the Myanmarese authorities are believed to be enthusiastic about it. “We have taken up the matter with our External Affairs Ministry which is yet to respond,” Prasad said.

But then, the port will not be able to function even if IWAI’s part of the job is completed within the scheduled time. This is because the construction of road, both within Myanmar and India, is also critical for the project.

The work on the 125-km-long road between Paletwa and Myeikwa near Mizoram on the Indo-Myanmarese border is yet to start. The Ministry of External Affairs has got a DPR prepared separately for this stretch and, as inquiries reveal, a reputed Myanmarese company with proven track record will most probably be given the job. However, nothing has been finalised as yet.

The construction of the 100-km-long road within India from the Indian side of the Indo-Myanmarese border to Lawngtlai on NH 54 has started.

The entire job has been divided into three sections and given to three Indian firms and is being implemented by the Ministry of Roads and Highways.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle3825096.ece

[sunny20rocky]

ONGC Tripura Power Company’s (OTPC) power plant is expected to go on stream later this month, but the network to evacuate the electricity may not be ready.

The Rs 3,500-crore project – of two units of 363.3 MW each – is considered a tough assignment as the region lacks adequate road or rail link. The first unit of the plant is slated to go on stream towards the end of this month.

However, the company’s transmission joint venture with PowerGrid – North-East Power Transmission Company (NEPTC) – is yet to complete the Rs 1,800-crore evacuation system to connect the power plant at Palatana in Tripura to the national grid, 661 km away in Bongaigaon, Assam.

And, since there is inadequate demand, both in Tripura and the entire North-Eastern region, the plant may be faced with viability issues. Chances are that it may even violate pollution control norms if run at a low demand load.

Viability concern

According to sources in project contractor BHEL, the gas-based units achieve break-even at 85-90 per cent load factor, meaning a lower capacity utilisation will only increase OTPC’s losses. ONGC, which has made capital investments in gas production and distribution to the power plant, will also be affected.

What is more, sources suggest the unit will violate emission norms if run below 75 per cent load factor.

Commissioning worries

NEPTC is yet to complete the first leg of the evacuation system to Silchar. “We are told it will be ready by September 29,” BHEL sources say.

In the absence of evacuation, the unit could not be even test run. “The State grid in Tripura is of 132 kV while our systems are benchmarked to the national grid parameters at 400 kV. Naturally, any effort to evacuate power through the State transmission lines will be catastrophic,” a source said.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle3848748.ece

[sunny20rocky]

SHILLONG: The University of Bangalore will build hostels for students from the northeast at the Jnana Bharati main campus in cooperation with the North Eastern Council (NEC). A project report has already been submitted and initially about 1700 students will be accommodated at a project cost of Rs 32.14 crore.

This was stated by the registrar of the university, professor Mylarappa, at a press meet here on Monday. Secretary of NEC UK Sangma was also present. "The Bangalore University, which is the biggest in Asia, will have special arrangements for the security of NE students. The NEC will also take steps to build hostels for NE students in Mumbai, Pune and Mysore," he said.

The NEC announcement assumes significance as it comes in the wake of the recent panic exodus of NE people from the southern states. Besides, the NEC has initiated work on constructing a girls hostel in Delhi University, together with the Union ministry of tribal affairs, at a cost of Rs 23.33 crore. "A working women's hostel, having an intake capacity of 500, was also constructed at Jasola, Delhi, in association with the Union ministry of women and child development, at a cost of Rs 17.44 crore. A house for NE women, having a capacity to accommodate 70 people, was constructed at BB Marg, Delhi. The construction of a women's hostel in South Campus of Delhi University for NE students is also under consideration," said the NEC secretary. Besides, a North East Cultural Centre is also going to be set up in CCRT, Dwarka, New Delhi to bring about awareness about the rich and diverse cultural heritage and tradition of the North Eastern States and provide a platform for youth from the North Eastern States and other states of India to interact and share creative ideas and other cultural forms.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/16244857.cms

[sunny20rocky]

Shillong, Sept. 7: When Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma lays the foundation stone for a railway station at Mendipathar in North Garo Hills tomorrow afternoon, a new chapter will be scripted in the state’s 40-year history.

The first train is expected to chug into the Mendipathar railway station by March 2013 as the 19.47km broad gauge railway line from Dudhnoi to Mendipathar is already being constructed at a cost of around Rs 144 crore.

The track will cover areas such as Nolbari-Deuripara, Boromiapara, Chotomiapara, Mataranga, Manikganj, Horingkata, Bakenang-Tilapara and Mendipathar.

The first efforts to bring Garo hills on the railway map were made in 1994 when an idea was mooted to have a railway line from Dudhnoi to Depa Sarangma. The proposal, however, had to be abandoned because of stiff opposition from local people.

History stands testimony to the fact that railway connectivity has never been fancied in the “abode of clouds” as pressure groups and student bodies fear that once a train is allowed to chug into Meghalaya, the state may become an “abode of illegal migrants”.

Till date, groups like the influential Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) are opposed to the idea. They feel that the time for railway connectivity had not come yet as strong mechanisms to safeguard the indigenous people from being invaded by illegal migrants were not in place yet.

On the other hand, the Garo Students’ Union (GSU), another influential group, has welcomed the move to construct the Mendipathar railway station.

“We are not opposing it as we believe that the railway line and the railway station will help to uplift the economy of the area. The Garo hills are resource-rich, but hitherto, only middlemen have been able to gain benefits at the cost of the farmers,” GSU president Tengsak G. Momin said over phone.

He said with the coming in of a railway line, the producers would have the opportunity to create direct contact with buyers without having the need to go through middlemen. “In that way, they will be able to gain more profit.”

At the same time, Momin asked the government to adopt stringent measures to check the entry of illegal migrants. “We will discuss with the government to put in place mechanisms to strictly monitor the entry of illegal migrants so that they do not settle in any part of Garo hills.”

KSU general secretary Auguster Jyrwa said the stand of the union opposing railway connectivity in the state stood unchanged. “Even without railways, the rate of infiltration of illegal migrants into our land is alarming. And the grim scenario will aggravate once railways come in. We will not allow railways here.”

On the assertion that railway connectivity would help combat the galloping inflation, the KSU leader argued saying prices of commodities in neighbouring Assam, which has had railway connectivity for years, were nothing better.

Yesterday, while replying to questions in the state Assembly, state transport minister Abu Taher Mondal said a railway line from Byrnihat to Shillong had been sanctioned and the same would be completed by March 2018.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/112090...p#.UEuHi67yQQg

[sunny20rocky]

Guwahati, Sept. 7: Numaligarh Refinery Limited has chalked up a Rs 8,955-crore plan in the Twelfth Five Year Plan for its expansion.

Refinery officials made this announcement here today at the refinery’s 19th annual general meeting.

R.K. Singh, chairman and managing director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and chairman of NRL, presided over the meeting, which was attended by NRL’s managing director Dipak Chakravarty and other members of the board.

In 2011-12, the refinery recorded its highest sales turnover of Rs 14,027.75crore, a growth of 56.4 per cent over the previous year.

However, profitability was affected primarily becasue of the negative impact of duty restructuring in June 2011.

The company’s profit before tax was recorded at Rs 287.46 crore and net profit at Rs 183.70 crores.

The Telegraph had reported in its September 7 edition that the net profit would dip below Rs 200 crore owing to duty restructuring.

A dividend of 10 per cent for 2011-12 on the paid up share capital was declared at the AGM.

The company stressed the need for long-term sustainability and growth. And realising that it faces several challenges — like its sub-economic size — the refinery is going in for expansion.

The company plans to expand its refining capacity from 3 million metric tonnes per annum to 8/9 million metric tonnes per annum together with the option of sourcing and transporting the additional crude oil through a pipeline.

It is also exploring possibilities for diversification into other sectors with promising potential, such as power generation, pipelines, exploration and production.

The refinery’s location is in close proximity to countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar, and this presents another opportunity of natural markets for its products.

The company is also looking at growth opportunities via implementation of value added projects.

The Rs 577-crore wax project envisages production of high value low-volume paraffin and microcrystalline wax utilising inherent properties of Northeast crude.

The project is scheduled for completion by December 2013. The Naphtha Splitter Project involving a project cost Rs 87 crore is targeted for completion in third quarter of 2012-13.

On the physical front, NRL achieved its best ever-physical performance during the year. Besides highest ever processing of 2,825 thousand metric tonnes (TMT) crude against 2,250 TMT in the previous year, the distillate yield (yield of high value liquid petroleum products) of the company during the year was recorded at 91.52 per cent, which was the highest in the Indian refining industry.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/112090...p#.UEuIYK7yQQg

[geico2000]

Guwahati, Sept 10: Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma laid the foundation stone of the first railway station in Meghalaya on Sunday, a report published by Anandabazar Patrika said on Monday. Ministers, bureaucrats, police officers and North East Frontier Railway (NEFR) officials were present at the inauguration of the station in North Garo hilly district. If everything goes according to plan, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh will also be linked with railways by this year end.

Student and youth organisations of Meghalaya have been opposing extension of railway lines to the northeastern state, fearing it would only create a problem by bringing in 'outsiders'. The problem over railway extension in this part has been going on for nearly two decades, the report said. CM Mukul Sangma, however, said the railway link would help in the state's development and slammed those who were opposing the project. "We believe that other parts of the state will also be linked by railway lines," the newspaper report quoted Sangma's saying.

According to Meghalaya government officials, train services to Mendipathar will begin by next March. The 20-km-railway line between Dudhnai in Assam and Mendipathar will cost around Rs 144 crore, the report said. A government official expected that railway services will start from Shillong by 2018.

The plan to start train services in Garo hills was first mulled in the mid-1990s but it could not be executed in the face of public protest.

A top engineer of the NEFR said 20 km out of 21.76 km broad gauge line has been laid down already in Arunachal Pradesh. Several railway bridges have been built and land acquisition has been carried out. The line will be linked with North Lakhimpur Rangapara line in Assam.

However, progress on railway extension project between Dimapur and Kohima in Nagaland was not satisfactory even though approval had been received in 2007. Railway sources said procedural issues have delayed the progress.


http://news.oneindia.in/2012/09/10/f...a-1068013.html

[sunny20rocky]

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh chief minister has said that the state was facing problems in getting forest and environment clearances, in some cases taking years, for the proposed hydropower projects in the Himalayan state.

Attending a panel discussion on Hydropower Projects in North East at New Delhi yesterday, NabamTuki said that the state was facing serious problems in getting Forest and Environment clearances, in some cases taking years, official sources informed here today.

Arunachal Pradesh has a potential of 40 per cent of the country's total hydro-power generation potential.

Tuki requested the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to have more positive role in hydropower development in the state.

He also pointed that due to staff constraints and other factors, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) are unable to speed up the issuance of Techno-Economical Clearance (TEC) despite their efforts to examine the DPRs and issue the clearances.

In addition, there are some more major roads that need to be taken up at the earliest under some scheme by the Government of India, he said.

Highlighting the significance of hydropower, Chief Minister viewed that besides producing clean energy, it would regulate flow of water during rainy seasons, moderate floods and consequently save losses of life, property and agricultural prospects in downstream areas.

Earlier, Tuki informed that of the projected 60000 MW potential in the state, projects of almost 42000 MW installed capacity have already been allotted while additional 10000 MW is likely to be allotted soon.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/h...w/16327146.cms

[sunny20rocky]

NE will be the future power hub of india. 60,000 MW in AP is roughly one third of india's peak demand of 1.6 lakh MW. and Assam will benefit the most as it will lead to the control of flood and once it gets power quota from AP projects, it will be able to meet its demands. if we consider 10% quota, then it will translate it into 6000MW for assam. as such there will be plenty of power for different industies including IT sector. Moreover surface and air communications too are being developed for last couple of years. As such Assam can project itself as an attractive destination for industries.

[sunny20rocky]

Agartala, Sept 11 (IANS): Tata Chemicals will set up a Rs 5,000-crore, gas-based urea plant in North Tripura in association with State-owned ONGC and Tripura government, officials said here on Tuesday.

ONGC Chairman Sudhir Vasudeva held a meeting with Chief Minister Manik Sarkar in New Delhi on Monday and discussed the matter.

"The ONGC CMD informed the Chief Minister that the Tata Chemicals has been chosen as the private partner to set up the fertilizer project in northern Tripura," a State Industry Department official told reporters.

The official said ONGC had initiated the process to set up the fertiliser plant to meet the growing shortage of urea, the commonly used soil manure in the northeastern region.

Tata Chemicals is the market leader in the urea and phosphatic fertiliser segments.

ONGC had earlier sought expression of interest (EoI) from companies with relevant experience and track record to be a partner in the proposed gas-based fertilizer plant.

According to an ONGC official, six Indian firms, including government-owned, were keen to participate in the first gas-based fertiliser plant of ONGC.

According to union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas RPN Singh, it would take around 44-48 months to set up the plant.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/...=sep1112/at047

[aryagni]

Guys,

Why is our Government ignoring North East India??

After watching many videos,documentaries ,news reports I found out that the insurgency there is caused by the ignorance of Government.

No Good Educational Institutions
No Good Houses
No Good places for Entertainment or Sports
No means of cheap long transportation

Why is our Government and Corporates ignoring these places??

I think with a good infrastructure those states can be turned into a paradise.

I wish our Govt could show at least a little bit of attention to these kind of problems instead of putting Expensive Monorails on worthless places

really saddening

Sorry for the bad English

[whitefox011]

cant agree more

[aryagni]

Guys,

Can someone start a social media campaign in twitter or Facebook to bring this into the attention of our Government??

Kashmiri insurgency is caused by religion but insurgency on these places is completely different.it is the result of pure ignorance from our govt.

[Deb_S]

Zodin Sanga, Aizawl (Sept 16): Mizoram is soon to become a major edible oil producer with three of India’s leading companies in the sector setting up oil palm processing plants in the hilly state. Laying a foundation stone for oil palm industry set up by Godrej Agrovet Private Limited at Kolasib district’s Bukvannei village on Saturday, chief minister Lal Thanhawla thanked the companies for helping the state boost its economy through oil palm.

Encouraging the farmers to work hard to be able to provide enough raw materials for the industry, Lal Thanhawla said the government would construct agricultural link roads wherever there are more than 20 oil palm cultivations. “As Mizoram has huge potential for oil palm cultivation, the Congress government continued the oil palm programme initiated during the previous (Mizo National Front) ministry and made it one of the trades under the state’s flagship project New Land Use Policy,” the chief minister said.

State agriculture minister H Liansailova, who also spoke on the occasion, said the government has been setting up food processing plants and cold storages. “It is the responsibility of the farmers to prevent such plants from lying idle,” he said.

Godrej Agrovet Pvt Ltd executive vice president R R Govindran assured that the processing plant would become operational by June 2013. “In addition to the oil palm farmers, about 600 families will benefit from the processing plant,” Govindran said.

Kolasib and Mamit districts, allocated to Godrej, are expected to produce at least 1,363 metric tonnes of oil palm valued at Rs 70 lakh during 2012-2013. At present, oil palm is cultivated in six districts – Aizawl, Kolasib, Mamit, Serchhip, Lunglei and Lawngtlai – covering 9,717 hectares of land. “The oil palm cultivation will be expanded to 5,350 hectares of land during this year,” said agriculture director (crop husbandry) Dr C Lalzarliana.

There are two other companies with which the state government has tied up – Ruchi Soya Industries Limited looks after Lunglei and Lawngtlai districts while Foods, Fats & Fertilizer Limited is in charge of Serchhip, Aizawl, and Saiha districts. Experts said Mizoram’s soil and climatic conditions are suitable for oil palm and it is the only state in the Northeast where oil palm cultivation is done.

Source

[Deb_S]

Zodin Sanga, Aizawl (Sept 18): Milch cows imported from Punjab and Haryana have recovered from their “travel fatigue” to herald a white revolution in the hilly state of Mizoram.

Dairy farmers who have received the cows under the state’s flagship project New Land Use Policy have now started to produce up to 20 litres of milk per day, an official statement said today.

“After such a long journey and lack of well-care during the transit period, the cows were skinny and exhausted on their arrival, some of them even died. Now the cows have recovered, giving smiles on the lips of the farmers,” said the statement, giving a report on the NLUP officials’ visit to the farmers near Aizawl.

As a result, the farmers’ sales of milk to the state-owned Mulco (Mizoram Multi-Commodity Producers’ Co-operative Union Ltd) have increased by more than 800 litres per day.

The NLUP media cell visited the dairy farmers at Durtlang, Sihphir, Lungdai, Serkhan, Kolasib, Bilkhawthlir, Thuampui and Muthi villages and was satisfied with their success story.

The state government had ordered 1,896 cows from Ludhiana (Punjab) and Karnal (Haryana) for 948 families, who opted for cattle rearing under the NLUP. Of these, 169 cows have died the cause of which is yet to be declared by the government. Six local cows in the said villages have also died due to suspected FMD.

Source

[Deb_S]

Post Bureau, Shillong (Sept 18): The Food Corporation of India (FCI) on Tuesday announced that it will set up more godowns in Meghalaya.

“We have decided to set up FCI godowns at Baghmara in South Garo Hills, Mawphlang in East Khasi Hills and Byrnihat in Ri-Bhoi district through the Plan scheme of the government,” Executive Director of FCI (North East Zone) Pinuel Basumatary told reporters here after laying the foundation stone of FCI office here in Meghalaya.

He, however, said that the FCI is yet to identify the land for setting of these godowns in the three districts. “We are ready to set up the godown once the state government provides us land and the union government would subsequently pay the land compensation once the land is handed over to us,” Basumatary added.

The FCI has set up three godowns in Meghalaya that include in Shillong, Tura in West Garo Hills and Jowai in Jaintia Hills whereas the storage houses at Williamnagar and Nongstoin are at present run by the Meghalaya State Warehousing Corporation (MSWC) under the FCI.

Basumatary said the FCI will expand its storage facility at Tura to meet the needs of the five districts in Garo Hills.

“Taking note of the fact that there is one only storage house at West Khasi Hills, the FCI are prepared to take over from the MSWC but we are currently waiting for the weight bridge to be installed in the house”, the FCI official said.

When asked about the storage capacity of the FCI godowns, Basumatary said that the storage capacity will be decided by the state level committee which is set up by the state government involving government and FCI officials.

On the alleged diversion of food grains from FCI Godown to black market, the FCI official said that the FCI is not responsible behind issuing stocks to the distributors, it only keeps track of the quantity and quality of stocks which reaches the Godown from other states.

“As far as diversion of the food items is concerned, this is the look-out of the state government as the distributors are issued by the government and the diversion may happen to the government’s nominees which is beyond our control”, he said.

Unlike Mizoram where the distribution of the stocks are handled by the food and supply department without appointing any nominees, in Meghalaya, the food items are being issued to the government’s nominees via the food and supply department.

Source

[Deb_S]

Sujit Chakraborty

New Delhi, Nov 26: The Centre is going to set up separate high courts for Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya, and to make them operational from the New Year, the North East Areas (Re-organisation) Amendment Bill, 1971 will be tabled in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

There is a full-fledged high court in Guwahati, and the remaining states have high court benches under it.

Judges are being sent from the Gauhati High Court to the benches to settle cases. However, major cases are heard in the Gauhati High Court. This is not only expensive for justice-seekers, but it also slows down the process of hearing, leading to piling up of cases.

According to sources, currently Tripura has over 6,300 pending cases in the Gauhati High Court, followed by Manipur with 3,700 cases, Nagaland with 1,900 cases and Meghalaya with about 800 cases.

The Centre was apparently very keen to set up fullfledged high courts in all the states of the region.

However, Nagaland is yet to construct a separate high court although the state got funds and acquired land for the purpose. Arunachal Pradesh requires more land to construct a separate high court building complex.

Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya have recently constructed new nigh court complexes with judges’ quarters and other facilities.

According to the Amendment Bill, each state high court will have a chief justice and two judges to start with. The government is expected to get approval in favour of the Bill in the ongoing session of Parliament.

Another important decision is to separate the present MT (Manipur-Tripura) cadre of IAS/IPS officers and make separate cadre for each state. The proposal is a t the final stage, and the actual number of posts for each state will be decided soon before the final announcement. This separate cadre system is also expected to be applicable from the New Year.

Section 61 of the North East Areas (Re-Organisation) Act, 1971 envisages constitution of a joint cadre of IAS/IPS and Forest Service for the states of AssamMeghalaya and ManipurTripura. The ManipurTripura joint cadre had been created on January 21, 1972.

This proposal is also expected to be incorporated in the North East Areas (Re-Organisation) Amendment Bill which is to be introduced in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

In fact, Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar had raised the issue for splitting the joint cadre system and creation of independent cadre for Tripura way back in July, 2007, when the Second Administrative Reforms Commission team under the stewardship of M Veerappa Moily (now Union minister for corporate affairs) had visited the state.

Sarkar had pointed out: “Tripura is an independent state with its distinctive socio-economic political realities, and it is imperative that a separate cadre for the state is instituted soon.”

Justifying his demand for creation of independent cadre for Tripura, the chief minister said: “The Central government has fixed 102 IAS officers for the state. But we have hardly 14 to 20 officers available in the state. Unfortunately, most of the officers join in the multinational companies or corporations for fat salaries. Many of them don’t want to work in Tripura being remote and landlocked.”

The members of the reforms commission accordingly recommended a separate cadre for Tripura and Manipur.

Source

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This is almost 6 months old piece of news. Can anyone confirm if the HC's have been opened in those states as mentioned in the article.

[Deb_S]

NEW DELHI, Sep 18: In a bid to bolster govt-owned mass media in the State, Chief Minister Nabam Tuki has urged upon the Centre to strengthen the mass information mediums like Doordarshan and All India Radio.
In this direction, he called on Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Ambika Soni here today and discussed various issues pertaining to strengthening the system of broadcasting and dissemination of information through govt-owned mass media.
Tuki was accompanied by Lok Sabha MP Ninong Ering.
Reiterating his vision to have a strong broadcasting system in the state, Tuki suggested upgrading and systematizing the communication mediums like DD and AIR that play an important role in bridging the gap between the govt and its citizens.
While appreciating the enthusiasm of the Chief Minister, Soni assured to give top priority to strengthen the network and work efficiency of DD and AIR in Arunachal Pradesh. Besides upgrading equipments and the broadcasting system in the existing centers, she assured to post adequate staff to man these centers.
She also accepted to strengthen the transmission reach of DD and AIR by opening new centers and viable locations in the state.
On the suggestion of Tuki, the Union Minister also admitted the need to re-introduce the installation and provision of Community Listening Sets in a state like Arunachal Pradesh, where the reach of mass media is still limited to countable towns.
The Union Minister accepted in principle to establish an office of the Press Bureau of India (PIB) at Itanagar. PIB is the Central govt agency that deals with all press related affairs of the govt besides organizing events like film festivals etc.
The Chief Minister, who also expressed keen interest in constituting a film division of the state to promote documentation of the rich cultural heritage of various tribes inhabiting the state, sought cooperation in this regard from the Union Ministry.
Responding to this plea, she assured all-out support and cooperation in this connection while insisting on organizing national and regional level film festivals in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Union Minister also appreciated the Chief Minister’s urge to have a dedicated 24-hours satellite channel for the state and offered cooperation to initiate the proposal.
Later, the CM along with MP Ninong Ering made a courtesy call on Union Minister of State for Planning Ashawni Kumar as a follow up to the memorandums and projects submitted earlier by the State govt.

Source