Smart city mission: 7 North East states sign MoU with Bharat Electronics Limited

The command centres would be set up in Imphal, Itanagar, Pasighat, Kohima, Namchi, Gangtok and Shillong, Union Minister Puri said.

“Namchi city of Sikkim has made tremendous progress in implementation of Smart City Mission. Tripura has also done excellent work by sanctioning 100 per cent of the demand, among which 60 per cent houses were grounded,” the union minister told a press conference here this afternoon.

Tripura has been working for the Smart City Mission with a loan of Rs 400 crores from the Asia Development Bank (ADB). Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who joined the press conference with Puri, said a sewage water treatment plant would also be set up at the Agartala-Akhaura Integrated Check Post (ICP) to treat the sewage water before it passes into Bangladesh.

“The treatment plant was being built by NBCC with a sanctioned fund of Rs 19 crores. We have sent a revised plan seeking Rs 35 crores for the project which was agreed on principle by the union minister. The project is likely to be completed by 1.5 years after it is commissioned,” Deb said.

Biplab also said that Bangladesh has objected several times against dirty water which is expatriated from Agartala city into the neighbouring country due to the latter’s low lying terrain.

“Very dirty water goes from here. If the water is treated before it passes, it will be nice. It will also help in developing modern drainage system in Agartala,” he said.

Deb thanked Union Minister Puri for agreeing in principle to revise fund sharing system for NE states in centrally sponsored projects to 90:10 ratio instead of the existing 60:40 ratio.

The review meeting also involved discussions on progress in making the NE states Open Defecation Free (ODF).

“Four states in the region are currently Open Defecation Free including Nagaland which announced itself ODF yesterday. Others have assured to become ODF by December 31, 2018 except Shillong which will become ODF by January next year,” Puri said.

Speaking on the central government’s focus to NE, Puri said BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has sanctioned 2.30 lakh households under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana with a fund allocation of Rs 3,570 crores as opposed to 26,041 houses sanctioned by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) dispensation.