The first meeting of the ‘Niti Forum for North-East’ (NFNE) was held at Agartala on Tuesday to accelerate inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the region.
The Niti Forum was constituted at Agartala for the Northeast states, which was attended by DoNER minister Jitendra Singh and vice chairman of Niti Aayog Rajiv Kumar.
Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma, Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio and other ministers from various Northeast states were present on the occasion.
In the day-long deliberations, the members of the Niti Forum for Northeast expressed their views and suggestion on the thrust area which can propel development including – Hydro-power, tourism, border trade, bamboo, floriculture, medicinal plants, horticulture, handicrafts, animal husbandry, organic farming, etc.
Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma expressed his concern on infrastructure development including air-connectivity between Northeast and other Asean countries and proper road connectivity between all state capitals of the region.
“2022 National Games in Meghalaya should be treated as an event for Northeast and momentum of growth and development should be accelerated,” Sangma said.
He also remarked that formation of Niti Aayog Forum would go a long way in realizing the potentials of Northeast, as all the states will come together to address challenges based on similarities and commonalities to chart out an action plan.
Sangma also expressed his concern on climate change and expressed his views on mitigation and adaptation. “There is a need to create small check dams and reservoirs and hybrid system for power, so that we are able to tap the potential of our resources,” he said.
