Centre sets up task force to improve agriculture sector in Northeast

The task force will submit its reports within two months to the central government, reports ETV Bharat’s Gautam Debroy.

New Delhi: With an aim to steer the growth of the agriculture sector in the northeastern region, the Central government has set up a task force comprising representatives from the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and the Union Agriculture Ministry.

“The task force that was set up recently will submit its reports within two months to the central government,” Union Minister for DoNER G Kishan Reddy told ETV Bharat on Wednesday. Setting up of the nine-member task force assumes significance for the Northeastern states as the region has vast potential in the agriculture and horticulture sector.

The task force was set up to coordinate and develop synergy with state governments in agriculture and allied sectors. “The task force will identify various sub-sectors, allied areas, and projects related to agriculture and with relevance to the northeastern region,” Reddy said. The major responsibility of the task force is to recommend strategies for re-invigorating agriculture in all its aspects through maximum resource mobilisation, innovation, technology diffusion, and reforms in these sectors.

The task force will also pursue full utilisation of the budget in the Northeastern region in these sectors. It will also monitor the growth of the agriculture sector. “It will also cover any other initiative which the task force may deem fit in agriculture and allied sectors for the Northeast," he said Meanwhile, the DoNER Ministry is all set to celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in the Northeast coinciding 75 years of Independence.

The programme scheduled to start on April 28, would be held across the eight states in the region. “A valedictory event will be held at Guwahati on May 4. The event will be graced by the presence of President Ram Nath Kovind, along with Governors and Chief Ministers of all the States,” said Reddy.

The programme will be celebrated under a different theme across the 8 States. Reddy said that every key event will be attended by the concerned Union Ministers. "It is hoped that the events would not only put light on the key issues but also provide a chance for different stakeholders to come together and deliberate on the vision collectively," Reddy said.

DoNER Secretary Lok Ranjan said that only Guwahati was linked by Railways prior to 2014. "Today two more capitals have been linked subsequently and the work on connecting the rest of the capital cities is underway," he said, adding that work is underway to connect the capitals of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland through four lanes and alternate two-lane highways to Sikkim.

“The connectivity in interior areas is being given a fillip through the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna. To date, there are 15 operational airports in the Northeast and work on 24 projects for upgradation and modernization and the creation of new airports is underway. In a similar way, projects are underway in telecom, power, international connectivity and Science and Technology,” Ranjan said.