Hopes expressed for infra projects with sustainability

Guwahati: The Northeast has always expected more infrastructure projects for itself, but now that it’s coming in diverse voices specifying what the region expects among infrastructure projects, ranging from small needs like more public EVs, roads, and tourism projects to railway coach factories, the Northeast is hungry for investments.

The whole picture may have to wait until after the national elections this summer, but when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Vote on Account on Thursday, there is hope it will have a firm direction for the eight states.

North Eastern Council (NEC) secretary K. Moses Chalai is sure the budget will be a very balanced one. “I think the government will continue to emphasize CAPEX (Capital Expenditure). It drives the government both in the short and long term,” Chalai said, speaking to Business North East.

The NEC secretary, of course, would have said it on firm premises. As Chandrama Goswami, the principal of the K.R.B. Girls' College in Guwahati, pointed out, the North East can expect investment in infrastructure projects for the implementation of the ‘Act East Policy’.

“Infra projects with a capital cost of Rs 45,096 crore have already been planned by 2024–25 for Assam,” said Goswami. Six road sections in Assam’s western, central, and southern regions will bring Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka closer,” said Goswami. 

Goswami’s hopes could get a lift once geopolitical roadblocks in Nagaland and Manipur are cleared, even as the government has signed an agreement with ULFA’s pro-talks faction.

The real challenges are in implementation, as red lines are apparent in how well the bureaucracy will execute plans. Former DoNER secretary and former revenue secretary Rajiv Takru felt that since the BJP government in Delhi was focusing on the region more than ever, it was largely up to the bureaucracy to implement road and infrastructure projects.

“It takes courage to change any system,” Takru told BNE.

Tripura University economics professor Indraneel Bhowmik mentioned that although this is an interim budget, he expected more funds under PM-DevINE, the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for the North-East Region, a fully-funded central sector scheme announced in the Union Budget of 2022–23. It is anchored by the Ministry for the Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER).

The scheme envisages funding infrastructure, in the spirit of PM GatiShakti, and supporting social development projects based on the felt needs of the region.

Bhowmik said he would be happy if Northeast or Tripura receives a significant public sector declaration, perhaps in the form of locomotive factories, wagon or coach manufacturing companies, to meet the growing demands of railway transportation and tap into export potential to Southeast Asia.

“This would enable us to export railway coaches as well," said Bhowmik, obviously recognizing the importance of the new India-Bangladesh railway connection.

As the Finance Ministry foresees a near-7% growth rate for 2024–25 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants a push for the Act East policy, the Budget even if interim, would be hoped to sketch a trajectory for the Northeast to see.

The Indian Chamber of Commerce’s Northeast chapter is also eagerly awaiting to listen to Sitharaman’s budget speech. ICC regional director Ishantor Sobhapandit urged the Center to allocate substantial funds for infrastructure development, as improved connectivity through road, rail, and air networks is crucial for fostering economic growth and attracting investments. “We seek policies and incentives aimed at promoting industrial growth and supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Northeast. Simplified procedures for setting up businesses, access to credit, and technological assistance can boost entrepreneurship and job creation,” said Sobhapandit.

Almost every respondent BNE spoke to had input to offer, including on the tourism industry and digitization that Northeast is apparently eager to adopt.

Sustainable development is essential in one of the major biodiversity hotspots in the world with a fragile ecology.

Rahul Chandra Das, Managing Director, Assam State Transportation Corporation, said that 100 EVs will be coming from the Center and additional buses through special assistance. Sobhapandit advocated sustainable development, and rightly so. As Takru pointed out, the north-eastern hills are young (geologically) and prone to landslides, needing support structures and embankments.

Many say that due to these limitations, projects are prone to leakages as budgets get revised more often than elsewhere in India.

Nevertheless, with new systems evolving and more to be announced by the Finance Minister in the forthcoming budget implementation, it is hoped to get better.

In 2018, the NITI Aayog constituted the NITI Forum for the North East, which delineated bamboo, dairy, pisciculture, tea, and tourism as focus areas. A joint working group was constituted and held a meeting on September 18, 2020, but after that, little has been heard from the Forum, although PM-DevINE did take shape in the subsequent two years.

For the Northeast states, the NITI Aayog’s structured initiative ‘Development Support Services for States (DSSS) for Infrastructure Projects’ provides help.

“Reimagine and transform the delivery of infrastructure projects by creating a marquee project shelf that demonstrates successful implementation of high-impact projects" is one of the objectives of DSSS. The north-eastern states will be hoping that this mantra is chanted in letter and spirit after Budget 2024 as well.

(With inputs from Priyanka Chakrabarty, Pankhi Sarma in Guwahati and Tanmoy Chakraborty in Agartala.)