By IANS,
Agartala : A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled a roadmap for alround developemnt of the northeast, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar asked the central government to allocate adequate funds for the project.
The “Vision 2020″document the prime minister released Wednesday seeks to spur investment, reduce poverty, enhance connectivity and bring the backward region on par with the rest of the country by 2020. A hefty fund to the tune of Rs.14 trillion would be required to implement the project.
Citing the central government’s failure in executing recommendations of various committees for the development of the northeast, including the Shukla Committee, Sarkar said these suggestions have remained largely on paper only.
The government had in 1996 formed a committee headed by S.P. Shukla, Planning Commission member, which in its report in 1997 suggested ten percent deduction from the Central budget for the development of the northeast.
Reacting to the new project, the chief minister said: “Unfortunately, the promises of the Centre following the recommendations of various committees, have remained mostly on paper and the dreams and aspirations of the people of the region remained unfulfilled. Required funds were never made available and the projects remained mere wish lists.”
He said lack of proper infrastructure, insufficient allocation of funds for various development schemes, lack of adequate employment opportunities and poor agricultural growth were complicating the situation in the region, which led to unrest and tension.
Sarkar in his statement maintained that inadequate allocation of funds to the North Eastern Council (NEC) might in turn fail to translate “Vision 2020” into reality.