The Plenary Session of North Eastern Council Concludes

Tags: National National News

The two-day plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC), which was held in Guwahati, under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah concluded in Guwahati on 9 October.

Important facts

• The meeting was attended by the Governors, Chief Ministers of North Eastern States, Union Ministers and Ministers of State for North Eastern Affairs and senior officers of various departments of the Centre and North Eastern States.

• In his address, Amit Shah said that there were three major hurdles in the path of development of the Northeast for decades - violence and unrest by extremist groups, lack of rail, road and air connectivity in the Northeast and previous governments' lack of emphasis on development of the Northeast.

• He said that the whole of India considers the languages, cultures, food and costumes of the Northeast of the country as its heritage and the Government of India is making every effort to preserve and promote the natural identity of this region.

• The 70th Plenary meeting reviewed the status of different ongoing social and developmental projects in the North Eastern Region.

NEHHDC Mobile Application launched

• The Home Minister launched the North Eastern Handicrafts & Handlooms Development Corporation Limited (NEHHDC) Mobile Application during the session. 

• It would help register artisans and weavers online and collect authentic data through the app.

About North Eastern Council

• It is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the North Eastern Region.

• It consists of the eight States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. 

• It was constituted under the North Eastern Council Act in 1971.

• The Council comprises Governors and Chief Ministers of constituent States and three members nominated by the President.

• The Union Cabinet, in June 2018, approved the proposal of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) to nominate the Union Home Minister as the ex-officio Chairman of the North Eastern Council (NEC).

• The Cabinet also approved that the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of DoNER will act as the Vice-Chairman of the Council.

• It discusses any matter in which some or all the States represented on the Council have a common interest and advises the Central Government and the respective State Governments as to the action to be taken on any such matter.

• The headquarters - Shillong