Team Voice Raisers

Rajat Kant Goel (Co-ordinator), Shaharyar Shaukat, Shikhar Garg, Syed Sahil Abbas Zaidi, Vibhu Varshney

Topic - Sunrise States : Realising growth potential of North East

Shining North East : Reforming India’s Development

Why North East?

Strategically and geographically crucial region of India

•Gateway to South East India

•Higher availability of international boundary for foreign exchange

•Better scope of development in era of globalisation

Alienated and isolated part of India from economic resurgence

• Insufficient communication

•Low contribution to country’s GDP

•Less utilization of skill based human resources

Untapped resources rich in natural endowments

•Natural fertility of soil

•High potential for hydro-power generation

•Huge forest expanse with variety of flora and fauna

North East At a Glance

Consist of 8 states- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura

Occupy about 8% of total geographic area and account for 4% of total population

Shares more than 4500 km of international boundary

Important tourist destination and food producing area

Important features:

Government Schemes addressing North East Region North Eastern Council Act

• Establishes an advisory body which looks into the matters of economic & social planning

• Formulate & review of regional plans, projects & schemes

Hill Area Development Program (HADP)

• Emphasis on development of environment and ecology

• Evolve plans to socio-economic growth, development of infrastructure

National Policy for integral development in Himalayas • Formulates policy for development of the Himalayas • Implementation of schemes in areas of environment,

forest, agriculture, Industrial Infrastructure, tourism, etc.

North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd

• Provide financial assistance to enterprises for setting up industrial infrastructure & agricultural-allied projects

• Provides consultancy & advisory services to state government & other agencies

‘Look East Policy’

• Look forward to political integration with rest of India & economic integration with rest of Asia

• Cultivate extensive economic & strategic relations with South East Asia

Ministry of Development of NER (DoNER) • Deals with matters related to socio-

economic development of NER • Acts as facilitator between central

ministries & state government of NER in economic development

Major Challenges in Government

Policies

Remedial Actions for current Government Policies

Policies still remain a ‘Government’s policies’ and not a ‘people’s programme’ due to lack of Local Support

Sub-optimal results of schemes due to inefficient implementation

Poor evaluation and monitoring due to inconsistent flow of funds through State government

Inadequate development of schemes inspite of higher fund release

Lower transparency and high time & cost overrun

Local trade influenced by insurgency results in reduced local financial autonomy

• Involvement of Panchayati Raj and awareness of various government schemes to local people

• Projects of regional nature and economic importance of mutual benefits to be able sustain after withdrawal of NEC support should be emphasised

• Less projects with more efficiency resulting in decreased financial burden and improved scrutiny process

• Well coordinated relationship between NEC and DoNER by step-by-step process of implementation at both sides

• Total transparency about procedures of sanctioning and allocation of funds by keeping monitoring system online and regularly audited

• Providing vocational, entrepreneurial and managerial skills to youth by training at graduate level

Challenges And Possible Action

Infrastructure

Education Sector

Transportation

Disaster Management

Health Sector

Employment

In the underdeveloped region of North-East India, infrastructure is

of utmost priority . Setup of institutional base – be it education,

healthcare, communication , transportation or employment , it is

important for any scheme or plan that could be efficiently

implemented. Infrastructure is itself a broad term, gives no scope

to apply for policies that could easily reach and benefit local

people. Education sector requires schools and colleges to provide

a support system to other sectors, Health sector requires not just

hospitals but also include sanitation, hygienic environment, clean

drinking water and many more. Disaster Management also acts as

a cushion for development of setbacks during emergencies and

hence prevents economy from a slow down. So, infrastructure

development is basic requirement for any area to flourish and for

North-East, it would prove to be a tool for stimulating all-round

development. Infrastructure should be backed up by proper

planning of schemes to be implemented and manage common

issues prevailing in the region.

Infrastructure – A stimulant to growth in North-

East India

Infrastructure for education sector should be taken as a priority. High literate population show that people are interested in learning.

Existing government schools should be revitalized to new educational curriculum & trained teaching staff.

New institutes for primary education set up in rural areas.

Institutes for vocational training also to be set up for existing literate & unemployed population.

Lack for teaching staff can be adjusted with IT enabling virtual classrooms.

Proper management & monitoring required at each step.

Local existing professionals could volunteer mass awareness campaign about the schemes & institutions.

Down to top approach can be implemented in drafting and implementation of the schemes

To improve transparency of schemes, book and record keeping & surveying should be kept in online database.

Key points for implementation of policies:

Local Surveying for area specific schemes

State And Government Approval

Establishing Auditing And Managing

Institutes

Hiring Professionals and Ground Staff from pool of recent undergrads and grads

Providing sufficient infrastructure Constant Auditing of the resources utilized

Better Education System

Funding

Monthly report

Education Sector

• Local dispensaries at regional level • Govt. hospitals with well managed wards at each district • Medical college with proper teaching & non teaching staff at

state level • Dispensaries & hospitals to provide basic facilities & first aid for

local diseases & ailments prevalent in the region • Setup and organisation backed up with Centre-State funds and

support • Mass awareness & medical check up camps to be held for

promotion • Migration of staff from other parts of India & providing courses

for nursing to local people for staff demands • Sending medical students to other parts of India from NER

leading to better social connections of NER with other parts of India

• Tie ups with NGOs & private institutions • More research & development for effective ways of curing

diseases prevalent in NER

Health Sector

Functions of Local Bodies

Make aware of schemes

Monitoring Schemes &

planning activities at Local level

Address local problems &

issues, report to State

Government

Central Government

Allocate Funds

Manage implementat

ion of schemes

Check State Government’s

internal order & auditing of

schemes

State Government Local Bodies

From Local Bodies for

Monitoring

Identifying location to

setup institutes

Awareness & promote schemes

Formulate cost-

effective schemes

Interaction

Employment And Skill Development

• Government financial support must complement private investment

• States should act as key players • Deployment of Funds without disturbing the time span and

technological advancement as well as regional relevance should be considered as heavy weight

• Focus on molecular, short-term and relevant courses to jump-start initial development

• Creating facilities for on-campus training and encouraging apprenticeships

• Affective assessment and credible certification on both quality-based and time-based criteria

• Restructuring employment exchanges as career guidance centres

• Expanding formal employment as it is fiscally attractive but more amenable to financial innovations

• Vocational training for women. • Skilled workers for hydro power plant; could generate

employment.

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Policy Making

Trained Professionals

Local Government

Bodies

State Government

Central Government

Funding Monitoring

Identified potential (MW) Capacity yet to be developed

Disaster Management

• Trained manpower is the first requirement for mitigation, monitoring and management of disasters

• Preparedness, promoting innovative strategies of mitigation, emergency response

• Bringing to a common platform the stakeholders of construction sector, policy and decision makers, scientists, technologists, representatives of industry, etc.

• Developing dams, weirs, barrages and embankments • Creating information umbrella and action strategies in case

any disaster strikes • Training of civilians for disaster mitigation • Teaching basic skills at school & college– level to ensure

moderation of impact of disaster • Basin wise integrated water management strategy based on

the principles of water and soil conservation • Strengthening existing institutions and appropriate

reorientation of policies

Government

HIGH LEVEL COMMITTE

CABINET COMMITTEE ON

SECURITY

CABINET COMMITTEE ON MANAGEMENT

NDMA NEC

States

SDMAs

Districts

Local Authorities

Community

State Police

Fire Services

State Disaster Response

Force

Transportation

• Construction of public roads with involvement of multiple sectors within the government

• Four-lane connectivity between capitals and industrial cities

• Two-lane connectivity for other cities • Trans-North East highway connecting it to rest of India • Inland water transport could be exploited for viable,

cost-effective alternative. • Loaning money from international organisation for

transport facilities. • Overcoming natural constraint in river system, using

rivers for efficient public transport. • Building bigger airports in major regions and use bigger

planes rather than smaller ATR ones.

Project Director

Project Manager

Support staff

Government appointed

Supervising staff

District Manager

Support Staff

Managing Staff

Project Co-ordinator

Contractor

State Controlled

Local Government Department Controlled

Locally Controlled

Challenges to implementation plans

India is moving into a new era of economic liberation so North east region should not be left out. The framework for development of the region can be broadly based upon four vital components :- Social empowerment, Economic empowerment, Partnership development, Project management. Social empowerment needs to empower rural communities, create sustainable institutions so that they manage common activities around microfinance, livelihoods and natural resource management. Economic empowerment should ideally be to develop the capacity of rural communities to plan and manage funds for various economic initiatives and common activities for the public. Partnership development should be to partner with various service providers, resource institutions and public and private sector organisations to bring resources such as finance, technology, and marketing into the project so that the community groups are able to improve their livelihoods. Final component, project management should facilitate various governance, implementation, co-ordination, learning and quality enhancement efforts in the project. With some of the changes that we attempts to deliberate upon, a process could be set in motion that could support the North East in its endeavour to contribute to the economic resurgence of the home region as well as to the development of the rest of the country that is what our aim is – ‘Reforming India’s Development by Shining North East’.

Conclusion

• Unattended issues of the past have accumulated, multi-layered and have become multifarious

• Fund crisis by government • Non-cooperation by locals • Constraint of hilly areas for construction • Delay in projects due to occurrence of disaster • Cutting into forest

Remedies to these challenges

• Public-private partnership and assistance from other institutes for funds supply

• Connecting locals emotionally by creating awareness among them about schemes and including local leaders as stakeholders

• Mapping disaster prone areas and taking precautionary steps for mitigation

• Afforestation drives

North East Summit, 2013 Looking “East” Through India’s North East, Namrata Goswani Transforming The North East, Planning Commission Annual Report, Ministry of Home Affairs Globalization and North East India: Challenges and Opportunities,

N. Bhupendro Singh Education And Employment In Disaster Management, Dr. Anup

Kumar Internet

References