Agartala, Jul 10 (IANS): Development of North Eastern Region Ministry (DoNER) is taking steps on a war-footing to develop five basic sectors including health, education and agriculture, in 14 districts of the northeastern region, an official said on Wednesday.
NITI Aayog had identified these 14 districts in the eight northeastern states in 2018.
The Union government and the respective states would jointly make efforts to improve the five basic sectors in the selected districts.
These include health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development and basic infrastructure, which have a direct bearing on the quality of life and economic productivity of the people.
"DoNER Ministry Secretary Inder Jit Singh chaired a meeting with chief nodal officers and nodal officers of aspirational districts of northeastern region on Tuesday in New Delhi. He asked the officials to take steps to develop five basic sectors of these districts," a Tripura government official said.
During the meeting, the nodal officers of the aspirational districts explained the projects undertaken in the 14 districts.
The official said that Singh directed the concerned officers to monitor the progress in these districts on different parameters on a regular basis.
"The DoNER Ministry Secretary asked the officials to coordinate with the line ministries of the Central government, state governments and district administrations to intensify their efforts for development of aspirational districts," he added.
Tripura's Dhalai District Magistrate and Collector Brahmneet Kaur said that she has asked all the concerned departments of the district to prepare proposals as per the guidelines of the NITI Aayog.
After the preparation of the proposals and finalisation of the schemes, budgetary allocation will be made to execute the plans with specific targets, Kaur told IANS.
The NITI Aayog has selected seven aspirational districts in Assam (Barpeta, Baksa, Darang, Dubri, Goalpara, Hailkandi and Udalguri) and one each in Arunachal Pradesh (Namsai district), Manipur (Chandel), Meghalaya (Ribhoi), Mizoram (Mamit), Nagaland (Kiphire), Tripura (Dhalai) and Sikkim (West Sikkim).