Delhi Is Finally Serious About The Northeast, And It Shows

Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not have chosen a more significant place to mark the completion of three years in office of his government. The inauguration of the 9.15km Dhola-Sadiya bridge, India’s longest, to mitigate the remoteness and inaccessibility of Northeast India is a hugely symbolic step that marks the Modi government's determination to bring the region into mainstream political and economic discourse of the country.

Northeast India has been largely neglected by successive governments in New Delhi, giving rise to quite a strong sense of alienation among the people there. One of the top priorities of the Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has been to address this sense of alienation by fast-tracking development and enhancing physical connectivity. During one of his first visits to the region after becoming Prime Minister, Narendra Modi spoke of the importance of seamless physical connectivity between the Northeast and the rest of the country for enhancing emotional connect with the people of the region.

Modi's words, unlike that of most of his predecessors, has not been just empty talk. Fund allocation for infrastructure projects in the region has been enhanced manifold over the past three years and now stands at a staggering Rs 115,000 crore. Allocations for social welfare projects have also increased significantly. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) keeps a close tab on allocation of funds to the Northeast and ensures prompt clearance of all project requests from the Northeastern states.

An effective mechanism to monitor fund utilisation and project implementation in the Northeast was sorely lacking. As a result, corruption had become endemic, and most of the money sanctioned for the development of the region used to go into the pockets of politicians, bureaucrats and their crony businessmen.

The thinking in New Delhi has been that cracking down on corruption in the Northeast would amount to stirring the hornet’s nest. Powerful politicians and bureaucrats in the region would be angered, and would then stir fresh trouble in the region, it was believed. Very often, powerful politicians and bureaucrats in New Delhi would demand, and get, a smart slice of the funds allocated to the region. In the process, the region got poorer and poorer while a section of the powerful amassed more and more wealth.

Modi has put a stop to this flourishing racket. A very strong monitoring mechanism has been put in place over the last three years, and senior officers in the PMO and some other ministries have been tasked with the sole responsibility of monitoring the implementation of various projects in the region. In the past, many physical infrastructure projects in the region had remained only on paper. Now, bureaucrats and ministers visit the Northeast to physically monitor the progress of projects.

The NDA government’s initiative in paving the path for an ultimate solution to the Naga issue has also impacted the region positively. “The Indo-Naga peace talks had been floundering. Many had formed the impression that the Government of India was not interested in arriving at a settlement with the Nagas and was only buying time. After Modi came to power, a fresh impetus was given to the talks and the framework agreement was signed. We are looking forward now to the final agreement,” said former Nagaland Chief Minister and current Lok Sabha member Neiphiu Rio.

The progress made on the Naga talks has conveyed the message to the people of the region that Modi government is genuinely interested in peace and development of the region. This has also caused a setback to the other insurgent groups there who have, so far, capitalised on the sense of alienation of the people of the Northeast. The Naga insurgency is considered to be the mother of all insurgencies in the Northeast. So with the Naga issue well on its way to being resolved, people of other insurgency-affected pockets of the region have also turned away from the groups they used to lend moral and material support to.

The ‘Act East’ policy of the NDA government has also brought about a big change in the region. ‘Act East’ is vastly different from former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s ‘Look East’ policy, under which New Delhi’s (at best) cursory glance towards the Northeast was often blurred by the permanent clouds of mistrust, corruption and insurgency hovering over most of the region. As part of the ‘Act East’ policy being pursued aggressively, agreements for building roads and other physical infrastructure, including ports, have been signed with Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. All this will ensure the rapid economic development of the Northeast, which is slated to turn into a transport, logistics and manufacturing hub, and which will be an important gateway between the rest of India and South as well as Southeast Asia.

DoNER (Ministry for Development of North-East Region) Minister Jitendra Singh says all infrastructure projects are progressing at a very fast pace and by 2020, the benefits of easy connectivity between the Northeastern states and the neighbouring countries will start flowing into the region. A lot of investment, he says, will also pour in. “Organic horticulture, food processing, logistics, information technology, transport, power generation and education are some of the sectors where huge investments will pour in from 2020 and the face of the Northeast will change dramatically,” he says.

The difference between the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and NDA governments’ policies towards opening the Northeast to South and Southeast Asia is that the former used to be wary of Chinese gaining a firm foothold in the sensitive region and, then, fuelling discontent against India. “The NDA government under Modi does not view the Northeast as a sensitive region that needs to be kept isolated from other countries. This government is confident and bold and believes that the best way to integrate the Northeast with the rest of the country is to fast track its development by integrating its economy with the neighbouring countries. At the same time, the manner in which the Modi government has dealt very firmly with China has sent a strong message that this government will not tolerate any mischief,” says Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu.

Northeast India, thus, is ignited by fresh hopes for not only its own progress and development, but also for playing an increasingly important role in the economic, social and strategic development of the country.