Under its 'Act East Policy', the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has sanctioned Rs 3,392.99 crore for 145 projects under its North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) from 2017-23. However, only 35 per cent, or Rs 1,198.47 crore, has been utilised so far, according to data analysed by India Data Portal at the Indian School Of Business (ISB), Hyderabad.
The North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) was launched on December 15, 2017, by the Centre to focus on infrastructure creation concerning water supply, power, connectivity, and thereby enhancing tourism in the region.
Since the inception of the scheme, the highest number of projects (55) were approved in 2021-22 at an allocation of Rs 1,180.11 crore. This was thrice the number of projects (17) sanctioned in the previous year and more than twice the allocation of Rs 491.71 crore.
In the recently announced Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made a provision of Rs 2,491 crore for 2023-24 for the NESID scheme, a 67 per cent jump from the revised estimate figure of Rs 1,493.30 crore in 2022-23. The overall allocation for the Northeast region has been doubled to Rs 5,892 crore for the financial year 2023-24 in the Budget, a hike of 110 per cent from Rs 2,800 crore in 2022-23.
The lion's share of the 145 projects sanctioned for the eight NE states went to Assam (33) and Arunachal Pradesh (29), which cornered almost 43 per cent. Assam (Rs 880 crore) and Arunachal (Rs 623 crore) were sanctioned 26 per cent and 18 per cent of the total funds allocated.
Sikkim and Tripura saw the lowest allocation at Rs 214 crore and Rs 312 crore, respectively, with 19 projects sanctioned for both the states.
While a major chunk of the funds under NESID was allocated for the construction of road and bridges at Rs 1,60,461 lakh, the health sector was the second priority, receiving Rs 62,122 lakh. It was followed by water supply (Rs 50,138 lakh), power (Rs 25,205 lakh) and education (Rs 17,215 lakh).
The construction of double lane road from Lanka to Umrangso via Diyungmukh, Haflong Tinali and Panimur has received the major share of the funds for northeast at Rs 227.17 lakh, followed by the upgradation of Suryamaninagar sub-station in Tripura for Rs 120.88 lakh.
The data shows that 73 projects are still awaiting utilisation certificates. Moreover, only 37 projects had utilised 100 per cent of the released fund, while 25 projects are yet to begin using the funds.
Most of the unutilised funds are in the education sector in Assam, health sector in Manipur, roads and bridges in Arunachal Pradesh, and water supply in Assam and Mizoram.