North Eastern model to be used for development of J&K

NEW DELHI: Union minister of state for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said livelihood and income generation schemes implemented in the northeast will be replicated in Jammu and Kashmir as new avenues of development have cropped up in the region since the abrogation of Article 370.


“Since Narendra Modi came to power, several livelihood, income generation and infrastructure development initiatives have been taken up for the northeast. Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast are pretty similar when it comes to topography. With the removal of the state’ special status, the opportunity has come to implement many such plans to develop the area,’’ Singh said.

He added besides Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh will also benefit if the present northeastern schemes are emulated. Ladakh, which has always been the “victim” of political discrimination has finally got a chance to usher in its own course of development, Singh said.

Singh, along with MPs Meenakshi Lekhi and Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, also took part in the “National Unity Campaign on One Nation, One Constitution’’ workshop.

The minister said that a high-level team from DoNER will visit Jammu and Kashmir soon be to explore how schemes such as bamboo-based cottage industry, organic farming, rural livelihood programme and food processing can be implemented in Kashmir.

Singh also laid the foundation of North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited (NERAMAC) market complex in Guwahati. At the event, he said the complex will be a destination to showcase northeastern products. The complex will come up at Six Mile here on a 2007 square meter plot with the support of North Eastern Council (

NEC

). Singh added that the Centre has decided to spend Rs 1,000 crore per day for the northeast during the first 100 days of Narendra Modi’s second term.


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