Assam's territory will be protected: Rajnath tells Sonowal

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday assured Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal that the territorial integrity of the state would not be compromised with, amid reports of a possible peace settlement with Naga rebel group NSCN-IM.

This was conveyed when Sonowal called on Singh here, an Assam government statement said.

"The issue of 'Nagalim' (Greater Nagaland) also came up for discussion in the meeting and the Union home minister assured the chief minister that territorial integrity of Assam would not be compromised at any cost and the central government is committed to maintain peace and harmony in the Northeast region," the statement said.

The NSCN-IM is on a peace negotiation with the central government and there have been reports that a settlement with the insurgent group is possible in near future.

One of the key demands of the NSCN-IM is integration of Naga-inhabited areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur.

In his meeting with Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, Sonowal urged him to announce a new industrial policy for Assam and other northeastern states.

Sonowal sought Jaitley's intervention in announcing the new industrial policy for the northeastern region before the proposed the Global Investors' Summit to be held in Guwahati on February 3 and 4, 2018.

The chief minister impressed upon the finance minister about the need for an industrial policy, exclusively for Assam and Northeast, to incentivise investments in Assam as it would augur well to create an investor friendly climate in the region before the investors' summit, the statement said.

Sonowal also sought Jaitley's help in expeditiously releasing Rs 1,138 crore due for the flood management programmes.

He said the release of the funds would help in early implementation of 141 ongoing and proposed flood and erosion management projects in the state.

In his meeting with Union Transport and Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari, Sonowal was informed that the central government has accorded investment clearance against implementation of five flood and erosion management projects in Assam with an expenditure of Rs 256.55 crore.

He urged the union minister to ensure early release of funds for the ongoing flood management programmes.