A Look At Infrastructural Developments In North-Eastern States of India

North-east India, which comprises of eight states, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim, is geographically connected to the rest of the country, by a narrow corridor of land, flanked by Nepal and Bangladesh. For decades, poor infrastructure and limited connectivity have acted as roadblocks hindering the socio-economic development of these states.

Referred to as 'Ashtalaksmi' of India, these states have been recognised as a gateway to South-East Asia. With Japan expressing its desire to offer support to India for development of infrastructure in the north-east, the ties between the two nations has just moved to the next level.

The Indian government's 'Act East' policy, focuses on strengthening relations with neighbouring countries and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is spearheading initiatives to enhance connectivity through various projects pertaining to road, rail, air, telecom, power and waterways.

PropGuide brings you updates on major government initiatives to develop infrastructure in north-eastern states of India.

Airports

The North-Eastern Council (NEC) is a nodal agency for economic and social development of the north-east. The NEC, whose key members include governors and chief ministers of these eight states, is funding upgradation of infrastructure in 12 operational airports.

The Pakyong Airport in Sikkim was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 24. Situated around 30 kilometres from Gangtok, the airport is built over an area of over 200 acres, atop a hill at 4,500 feet above sea level making it one of the five highest airports in the country. Developed at a cost of about Rs. 605 crore, the airport has a 1.75-km runway. The first commercial flight will take off on October 4 from this airport.

The construction of Tezu Airport is nearing completion and will be operational within the current financial year. Connectivity to neighbouring districts like Lower Dibang Valley, Anjaw, Namsai and Dibang Valley, is expected to improve greatly.

Runway extension works will be taken up by the NEC in Umroi (Shillong) Airport, to enable bigger aircrafts to land. Similarly, work is underway to allocate hangars at LGBI Airport in Guwahati.

Road projects

The NEC has set its focus on building roads spanning 10,500 kilometres, which will include inter-state and roads of economic importance. A new scheme called the North East Road Sector Development Scheme, has been launched that will drive strategic projects for roads and bridges. These projects include Doimukh-Harmuti; Tura-Mankachar and Wokha-Merapani-Golaghat of 85 kilometres and will be led by the National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) , at an estimated cost of Rs 213.97 crores. A total of 14 such projects will be undertaken by the NHIDCL.

Despite being the largest state in the country, Arunachal Pradesh has the least road density. The Union Ministry of Road and Transport, is planning to expedite the Trans-Arunachal Highway project. The ministry will be driving the Special Accelerated Road Development Program of Roads and Highways covering 2,319 kilometres. Construction plans for the Arunachal Frontier Highway and East West Corridor, has also been proposed.

Rail projects

To strengthen connectivity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bogibeel Bridge, India's largest railroad bridge, on December 25. The five-km structure, constructed over the Brahmputra river, will connect Dibrugarh in Assam and Dhemaji district bordering Arunachal Pradesh. This bridge will cut the travel time between the two points by four hours.

There are plans to provide a railway link for the NE states through 20 major railway projects, encompassing 13 new lines, two gauge conversions and five doublings with a length of nearly 2,624 kilometres.

Construction of a broad gauge railway line connecting Bairabi and Sairang, is in progress that will connect capital cities of the north-eastern states by 2020.

A part of Northeast Frontier Railway Zone, the 51-kilometre long rail link is expected to be operational by next year. The project will also be accompanied by the construction of 23 tunnels spanning nine kilometres, along with 36 major bridges and 147 minor bridges. The railway line will include three stations viz. Hortoki, Kawnpui and Mualkhang, which will be equipped with contemporary facilities like escalators, foot over-bridge, etc.

An express highway project along the Brahmaputra River, costing Rs 40,000 crores and spanning 1,300 kilometres, will come up and that is expected to resolve connectivity issues in Assam.

The government is braving challenges of availability of funds, land acquisition issues, forestry clearances, etc., and actively working towards the successful completion of these projects. Improved road, rail and air connectivity will help north-east India take a big leap towards progress.