Centre okays 6,600-crore scheme ahead of polls in three NE states

Guwahati: About five months ahead of BJP’s three high-stake elections in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 6,600-crore new central sector scheme for the northeast called the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE).
The 100% central funding scheme was announced in the last budget to address development gaps in the region. The amount will be used in the remaining four years of the 15th Finance Commission from 2022-23 to 2025-26 and will not be a substitute for existing central and state schemes.
Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, “It is a matter of immense satisfaction that we have PM Narendra Modi ji, who is absolutely committed to the people of the northeast. Modi ji’s untiring efforts to propel growth and development saw yet another major milestone when the Union Cabinet passed the PM DevINE scheme today. This is a 100% centrally sponsored scheme that the government aims to use in infrastructure convergently in the spirit of PM Gati Shakti, support social development projects, enable youth & women in livelihood activities and bridge development gaps.”
According to an official statement, the “announcement of PM-DevINE is yet another instance of the importance being attached to the development of NE region by the government.”
“The justification for announcement of PM-DevINE is that the parameters of NE states in respect of Basic Minimum Services (BMS) are well below the national average and there are critical development gaps as per the BER District Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Index 2021-22 prepared by NITI Aayog, UNDP and MDoNER. The new Scheme, PM-DevINE, was announced to address these BMS shortfalls and development gaps,” the statement said.