Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s visit to Meghalaya and Tripura will focus on Sunday, when the North Eastern Council will celebrate its golden jubilee. Several big-ticket projects are also among the highlights of the two-state visit, which comes days after last year’s election season ended following the formation of new governments in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Both Tripura and Meghalaya are due to vote early next year. While the ruling coalition of the National People’s Party (NPP) and the BJP is in power in Meghalaya, the BJP also rules in Tripura.
Here are ten points for PM Modi’s visit to Meghalaya and Tripura:
1) PM Modi tweeted about his visit to the states on Saturday, saying he would “participate in various programs aimed at promoting the growth trajectory of these states and the entire Northeast region.”
2) The North Eastern Council – the nodal agency for social development of the North Eastern region – consists of the eight states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. Its establishment in 1971 “marked the beginning of a new chapter of coordinated and planned effort,” its official website says, adding that over the past 50 years it has helped “launch a new economic effort.”
3) Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Shillong on Saturday ahead of PM Modi’s visit.
4) The Prime Minister will attend a key meeting of the North East Council on Sunday morning.
5) In total, the Prime Minister inaugurates or dedicates ₹6,800 crore worth of national projects.
6) Out of these projects worth ₹2,450 crore are for Meghalaya.
7) PM Modi “will open the new campus of IIM Shillong at Umsawli,” a government statement said, adding that he will “open the Shillong – Diengpasoh Road which will provide better connectivity to the new satellite town of Shillong and decongest the city. also to inaugurate four more road projects across three states namely Meghalaya, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.”
8) Among the most important are also six road projects – connected with the states of Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura.
9) Among the projects worth ₹4,350 crore, Tripura will also witness the launch of the government’s ambitious Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Rural. “Constructed at a cost of over ₹3,400 crore, these houses will cover more than 2 million beneficiaries,” his office said in a statement.
10) His visit to the Northeast comes at a time when the opposition is targeting the government over the latest clash between Indian and Chinese troops along the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang.
