Work as ambassadors for your region: Govt tells NE officers

PTI
NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 10

Steps are being taken to boost tourism in the North-East and address various challenges including poor air connectively through inter-ministerial cooperation, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said here today.
Addressing probably the first-ever congregation of senior Delhi based North-East officers working in different government departments here, Singh said their presence adds to the multi-ethnic character of the country’s capital and asked them to act as “ambassadors” to promote government’s work and plan for welfare of people living in their states.Singh called upon officers of NE origin living in Delhi to act as resource persons for the Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) to help the government to discharge its obligations towards the region in a more effective manner, an official release issued today said.
He said the officers should also help spreading finer features of North Eastern culture among their circle of colleagues and friends in whichever office or department they work.
Singh, Minister of State for DoNER, said that a sizeable population of North-East living in Delhi has in fact enriched the national capital in more ways.
The Minister said that an inter-ministerial meeting was held two weeks back with the Union Ministry of Tourism and a Standing Committee of the two ministries has been constituted to work out various means of attracting tourists, film makers and holiday seekers to North Eastern region, which will generate immense opportunities for job and revenue generation.
On similar lines, he said, an inter-ministerial meeting is being contemplated with the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to address the most widely felt problem of poor air connectivity in the region.
Singh said the Ministry of DoNER has taken upon itself the dual responsibility of implementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for development of North East and at the same time, to act as a bridge of hearts and minds between NE region and the rest of the country.
Referring to some of the important decisions taken in a brief period of about eight weeks as in-charge of the Ministry, Singh mentioned the initiative to have a DoNER camp secretariat office by rotation in each of the eight states of the North East region.
The camp secretariat will have in attendance Secretary DoNER and other senior officers from the Ministry who will travel to the state and hold interaction with various sections of society and elected representatives, besides making an on-the-spot assessment of the ongoing development works, he said.
This, the Minister said, will help sending out a positive message that the people of North East do not have to travel to Delhi each time for redressal of their grievances but it is New Delhi which will reach out to them in their native state.
Considering the immense youth potential available in the North East, he referred to the decision to set up a sports university, new agricultural colleges and other educational institutions there so that the youths’ exodus from the region could be curtailed.