Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit poll-bound Tripura and Meghalaya on Sunday to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of projects worth more than Rs 6,800 crore there. These two northeastern States, along with Nagaland, are headed for Assembly polls by February-March 2023.

The elections in the three states hold great importance for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is eyeing to capture the entire Northeast region. Having romped back to power in Assam and Manipur for the second consecutive term, the BJP,  which is the ruling party in Tripura, hopes to keep the winning momentum going in three other northeastern states. The National People’s Party, an NDA ally, formed the government in Meghalaya in 2018 with Conrad Sangma as the chief minister.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the new projects that are set to be launched encompass a wide array of sectors, including housing, road, agriculture, telecom, IT, tourism and hospitality.

PM Modi In Meghalaya

Prime Minister Modi has a busy schedule going into the northeast. Starting his tour from Meghalaya, where he will also participate in the golden jubilee celebration of the North Eastern Council and attend its meeting in Shillong.

The North Eastern Council (NEC) was formally inaugurated on November 7, 1972, and it has played a key role in the region’s socio-economic development by supporting various infrastructure projects and development initiatives.

It has helped create valuable capital and social infrastructure, especially in critical gap areas of sectors, including education, health, sports, water resources, agriculture, tourism and industry, the PMO said.

At a public function, Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple projects worth over Rs 2,450 crores, it said.

In a step to further boost telecom connectivity in the region, he will dedicate to the nation 4G mobile towers, of which more than 320 have been completed and around 890 are under construction.

Modi will also inaugurate the new campus of IIM Shillong at Umsawli, besides several other development initiatives, including four road projects across the three states of Meghalaya, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

A spawn laboratory at the Mushroom Development Centre and an integrated beekeeping development centre will also be inaugurated by him in Meghalaya, besides 21 Hindi libraries in Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Assam, the PMO said.

PM Modi In Tripura 

In Tripura, PM Modi will launch projects worth over Rs 4,350 crores. He will launch the “Grih Pravesh” programme for more than two lakh beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban and Rural – schemes in Agartala.

The PMO noted that Modi has focussed on ensuring that everyone has a house of their own. In a key step towards this, he will be launching the ‘Grih Pravesh’ programme. These houses developed at a cost of over Rs 3,400 crores will cover over two lakh beneficiaries.

With a focus on improving road connectivity, the prime minister will inaugurate a project for widening of the Agartala bypass (Khayerpur-Amtali) NH-08, which will help ease traffic congestion in Agartala city, it said.

He will also lay the foundation stones for 32 roads of more than 230 kilometres in length under the PMGSY III (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) and for improvement of 112 roads covering a distance of over 540 kilometres.

The State Institute of Hotel Management at Anandnagar and Agartala Government Dental College will also be inaugurated by him.

Amit Shah on 2-day visit to Meghalaya

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reached Assam’s Guwahati on Saturday evening after holding the 25th meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council in the West Bengal Secretariat in Nabanna today. Shah was received by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on his arrival.

He then left for Shillong by road, to begin his two-day visit to Meghalaya, where he is scheduled to attend the golden jubilee celebrations of the NEC. Following his arrival in Meghalaya, the Union Home Minister planted a tree at Raj Bhavan.

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