Parliament Question: Infrastructure development in NER

Government of India Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 62 To be answered on Thursday, February 05, 2026/ 16 Magha, 1947 (Saka) QUESTION “INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN NER” 62. SHRI HARSH VARDHAN SHRINGLA Will the Minister of DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION be pleased to state: (a) the details of progress achieved in infrastructure projects in the North Eastern Region; (b) the details of allocation and utilization of funds under the central schemes; (c) the details of coordination with State Governments and local agencies; and (d) how focused development is improving connectivity, livelihoods and regional integration? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE OF THE MINISTRY OF DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION [Dr. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR] (a) to (d): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (D) IN RESPECT TO RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 62 FOR REPLY ON 05th FEBRUARY 2026 REGARDING INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN NER a) Under the various schemes of Government of India several infrastructure projects have been completed under the following sectors:- Road, Railways connectivity, Civil Aviation, Telecom etc. i) Road Connectivity: The length of National Highways (NH) in NER has increased from 10,905 km in 2014 to 16,207 km as on 31.03.2025. Flagship NH projects completed during the period in NER are tabulated below: S. Project Name State Length Cost Status Significance No. (km) (₹ in Cr.) 1 Connectivity to Bangladesh- Tripura 1.89 129 Completed Connectivity from NE Feni Bridge Project (Maitri Region to Chittagong Bridge –I) portion Bangladesh 2 Construction of bridge Assam 28.51 1,989 Completed Direct inter-state between Dhola and Sadia connectivity between ghats in Assam Assam and Arunachal Pradesh 3 Atal Setu Viaduct Bengalon Sikkim 1.1 133 Completed Enhance connectivity NH 10, Sikkim for defense forces to the border region 4 Shillong - Nongstoin– Meghalaya 261 2,320 Completed Reduce travel time Rongjeng- Tura in Meghalaya between Shillong and Tura from 12 hrs to 6 hrs 5 Dibang-Lohit River Bridge Arunachal 29.64 1,508 Completed Bridged Gap between (NH-13), Arunachal Pradesh Pradesh Digaru to Chowkham reducing travel timeii) Railway Connectivity: The Ministry of Railways have informed that the budget allocation during the last five years has increased significantly in the North Eastern Region. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region (NER) is as under:- Period Outlay 2009-14 ₹2,122 crore/year 2025-26 ₹10,440 crore (about 5 times) The details of commissioning/laying of new track falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region (NER) during 2009-14 and 2014-2025 is as under:- Period New track Commissioned Average commissioning of new tracks 2009-14 333 Km 66.6 Km/year 2014-25 1,840 Km 167.27 Km/year (about 2.5 times) As on 01.04.2025, 12 Railway projects (08 New Lines, 04 Doubling), of a total length of 777 Km, costing ₹69,342 crore falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region (NER) have been sanctioned. The summary is as under:- Category No. of Total Length Exp. upto sanctioned Length Commissioned Mar’25 projects (in Km) upto Mar’25 (in (₹ in Cr.) Km) New Lines 08 448 113 38,078 Doubling/Multitracking 04 329 165 3,598 Total 12 777 278 41,676 Projects commissioned falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region since 2014, are as under:S. No. Project Cost (₹ in crore) 1 Bhairabi-Sairang New Line (51 Km) 8,071 2 Agartala-Sabroom New Line(112 Km) 3,170 3 Agartala-Akhaura New Line (5 Km) 865 4 Rangiya-Murkongselek Gauge Conversion (510 Km) 3,019 5 Kumarghat-Agartala Gauge Conversion (109 Km) 1,242 6 Katakhal-Bharabi Gauge Conversion (84 Km) 348 7 Lumding-Badarpur-Silchar & Badarpur-Kumarghat Gauge Conversion 6500 (412 Km) 8 Lumding-Hojai Doubling (45 Km) 410 9 Digaru-Hojai Doubling (102 Km) 1,873 10 New Bongaigaon-Agthori Doubling (143 Km) 2,048 11 Bogibeel Bridge (92 Km) 5,820 Some of the main projects falling fully/partly in the North Eastern Region which have been taken up are as under:- S.No. Name of the project Cost (₹ In crore) 1 Jiribam-Imphal New Line (111 Km) 22,275 2 Dimapur-Kohima New Line (82 Km) 6,663 3 Murkongselek-Pasighat New Line (27 Km) 1,265 4 New Bongaigaon-Goalpara-Kamakhaya Doubling (176 Km) 4,961 5 Agthori – Kamakhya including Rail cum Road Bridge at Saraighat 1,474 Doubling (7 Km) Further, during the last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and the current financial year 2025-26, 20 surveys (14 New Line, and 6 Doubling) of total length 2,575 Km falling fully/ partly in North Eastern Region including the projects in the State of Assam and Barak Valley Region, have been sanctioned. iii) Telecom Connectivity: As of Dec, 2025, 6355 Gram Panchayats have been made service ready for providing high speed internet services in North Eastern Region. Till Dec-2025, 3718 mobile towers havebeen commissioned in NER covering 5366 villages/locations under various Government funded mobile projects. The details of Fund disbursed for North Eastern Region during FY 2014-15 to 2025-26 upto 31.12.2025 under various projects in the North Eastern Region is tabulated below: (Rs. in crores) Sl. Name of Name of Tota Assa *NE-I *NE-II Sikk DO Tota No. Scheme Projects l m (Meghal (Aruna im T l Proj aya, chal HQ ect Mizora Prades Cost m and h, Tripura Manip ) ur and Nagala nd) Project-wise Fund disbursement 1 Compens Bharat Net 1880 333. 288.07 480.57 90.1 1192 ation to 41 25 1 .00 2 Service 4G 130. 150.28 655.80 6.10 200. 1142 3062 Providers Saturation 14 16 .48 0 for Project 3 creation BOP/BIP 26.2 26.2 737 and 0 0 4 augmenta Mobile 135. 179.70 315. tion of Services in 43 13 Telecom Arunachal 667 Infrastruc Pradesh and ture 2 District of Assam 5 Mobile 240.57 240. Services in 398 57 Meghalaya 6 Mobile 373. 148.09 437.69 4.32 5.71 968. 1122 Services in 06 87NER (NESA) 7 10 Gbps 17 17.6 17.6 Internationa 5 5 l Bandwidth for Internet Connectivit y to Agartala from BSCCL 8 25000 Wi- 3.61 0.68 1.23 5.52 11.0 Fi at Rural 4 Exchanges of BSNL 9 Shared 3.87 2.08 5.95 11.9 Mobile 0 Infrastructur e Scheme 10 Village 0.37 0.84 0.81 2.02 4.05 Public Telephone 11 OFC Assam 37.5 37.5 75.0 2 2 5 12 OFC NE-I 18.42 18.4 36.8 2 4 13 OFC NE-II 13.04 13.0 26.0 4 8 14 Solar 0.00 0.03 0.03 0.06 Mobile Charging Facilities (SMCF) 15 Setting up 1.39 0.97 0.14 2.49 4.99 of Wi-Fi byRailtel at Railway Stations 16 Rural 2.26 1.09 1.62 4.97 9.93 Wireline Broadband Total 2216 1017 852.91 1772.67 100. 339. 4082 02 .03 53 68 .83 Major Completed Projects: The project for providing 2G mobile connectivity in uncovered villages and along National Highways across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura was undertaken at a cost of ₹1,655.66 crore (excluding taxes) and was completed in March 2021. iv) Air Connectivity: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN) on 21st October, 2016. UDAN is a market-driven initiative where the development of regional air connectivity routes is determined by market forces. Airlines assess the demand and supply needs for specific routes and lead the process under the scheme. Airlines are selected through a transparent bidding process. The following airports and heliports have been identified for development and operation of RCS flights in the NE states under the UDAN scheme: AIRPORTS Passighat, Tezu, Hollongi, Jorhat, Lilabari, Rupsi, Tezpur, Dimapur, Shillong and Pakyong HELIPORTS • Arunachal Pradesh: Ziro, Walong, Itanagar (Naharlagun), Tuting, Yinghiong, Daparizo, Miao & Vijaynagar • Assam : Geleki & Nagaon • Meghalaya: Tura & Shillong (H) • Manipur: Tamenglong, Jiribam, Thanlon, Parbung, Moreh & Churachandpur • Nagaland: Phek, Kohima, Zunheboto, Tuensang, Mokokchung • Sikkim: Gangtok East, Pelling West & Namchi SouthAll the above-mentioned 10 airports in the North-Eastern States have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme and are currently operational, except Pakyong Airport. In addition, two heliports, namely Jiribam and Tamenglong, have also been operationalized under Non-Scheduled Operator Permit (NSOP) operations. 2004-2014 2014-2025 S. No State Amount Amount No. of Projects No. of Projects (₹ in cr.) (₹ in cr.) Arunachal 1 1 96 4 884.9 Pradesh 2 Assam 10 271.89 18 413.48 3 Manipur 2 26.08 14 207.66 4 Meghalaya 2 40.63 4 66.15 5 Mizoram 0 0 0 0 6 Nagaland 1 12.96 1 48.37 7 Sikkim 0 0 1 553.53 8 Tripura 2 37.89 11 745.21 Total 18 485.45 52 2919.30 Major Initiatives: 1. Construction of Greenfield Airport at Hollongi, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh 2. Development and Operationalization of Tezu Airport in Lohit District of Arunachal Pradesh 3. Construction of New Integrated Terminal Building and allied works at Agartala Airport, Tripura 4. Construction of New Integrated Terminal Building and allied works at Imphal Airport, Manipur 5. Construction of Hangars at Agartala Airport, Guwahati Airport and Dibrugarh Airport. 6. Construction of Greenfield Airport at Doloo, Silchar, Assam. 7. Development of New Civil Enclave at Jorhat, Assam 8. Construction of Greenfield Airport at Pakyong, Sikkim 9. Operationalization of Baljek Airport, Tura, Meghalaya10. Development of Barapani (Shillong) Airport (Extension of Runway and Terminal Building), Meghalaya. 11. Development & Upgradation of Lengpui Airport, Mizoram v) Power: A number of Hydro Electric Projects with a total installed capacity of 5796 MW have been taken up in NER. The major projects include Subansiri Lower (1750 MW), Dibang Multi- Purpose project (2880 MW), Teesta Stage VI (500 MW) etc. Under the NER Power System Improvement Project for Six States (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland) for strengthening of the Intra-State Transmission and Distribution Systems (33kV and above) at an estimated cost of ₹6700 crore. The comprehensive scheme for Strengthening of Transmission and Distribution System in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim at an estimated cost of ₹9129.32 crore has been sanctioned. vi) Inland Waterways The number of National Waterways in the NER has increased from 1 to 20 and ₹1,040 cr have been spent on various Waterways Projects in NER. b) Under the 10% Gross Budgetary Support mechanism, since 2014-2015 to 2024-2025 Accumulative expenditure (AE) of ₹ 6.11 lakh cr has been made against the cumulative allocation of ₹ 6.02 lakh cr (RE) by the non-exempted Ministries/Departments for development of NER. The details is tabulated below: FY RE (₹ in cr.) AE (₹in cr.) 2004-05 to 2013-14 1,57,856.47 1,39,661.12 2014-15 27,359.17 24,819.18 2015-16 29,669.22 28,673.73 2016-17 32,180.08 29,367.90 2017-18 40,971.69 39,753.44 2018-19 47,087.95 46,054.80 2019-20 53,374.19 48,533.80 2020-21 51,270.90 48,563.82 2021-22 68,440.26 70,874.32 2022-23 72,540.28 82,690.37 2023-24 91,802.00 1,02,749.002024-25 87735.96 89734.37 2014-15 to 2024-25 6,02,431.70 6,11,814.73 c) To coordinate with State Governments and local agencies, and to monitor the progress of various activities in the North Eastern Region, a dedicated monitoring mechanism has been established. Under this framework, Project Quality Monitors / Third Party Technical Inspectors (PQM/TPTI) serve as external monitors to inspect project implementation. Field-level Technical Support Units provide assistance to State Governments in project execution and inspections. In addition, several review meetings are conducted at the level of the Union Minister with Chief Ministers and concerned State Ministers. Regular review meetings are also held by the Secretary and senior officers of MDoNER with Chief Secretaries and senior State officials. Furthermore, Central Nodal Officers (CNOs) and Nodal Officers (NOs) continuously monitor the progress of projects in their respective assigned States. d) Focused development is improving connectivity, livelihoods, and regional integration in the North Eastern Region (NER) through coordinated policy interventions and targeted sectoral initiatives such as. i. Ashtalakshmi Mahotsav Ashtalakshmi Mahotsav was organized by MDoNER from 6-8th December 2024 with an aim to offer a dynamic stage for showcasing North east India’s vibrant textile sector, tourism opportunities, traditional craftsmanship and distinctive GI tagged products. Mahotsav was having all the 8 NE state Pavilion, Eri silk, Muga silk and GI pavilion. Also B2 G sessions wherein project proposals of about ₹ 2500 crore were received. Cultural programme and Fashion show were organised to showcase the cultural vibrancy and the vibrant textile sector of NER. Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between (i) Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) & Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand and (ii) North Eastern Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation Ltd. (NEHHDC) & Creative Economy Agency (CEA) of Government of Kingdom of Thailand on 3rd April, 2025 to institutionalize and increase bilateral cooperation in the handloom and handicraft sector.ii. North-East Bankers Conclave 2024 MDoNER organized a North East Bankers’ Conclave in New Delhi on 28 April 2023 and the North East Bankers’ Conclave 2.0 in Agartala, Tripura on 21 December 2024, during which in-depth deliberations were held on the current banking landscape in the NER with the objective of providing a roadmap to meet the present and future financial resource needs of the region. As a result of these initiatives, 131 bank branches and 126 ATMs were opened in the NER during the period from December 2024 to November 2025, and to date, banking services have been extended to 6,774 villages etc. iii. Rising Northeast Investors Summit 2025: Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) organized "Rising North East"-Investors Summit 2025 on 23rd and 24th May, 2025 in New Delhi, which was inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister. The Summit was intended to promote trade and investment in the North Eastern Region and provide a platform for an immersive dialogue between select embassies, the business community, financial institutions, and relevant government stakeholders for forging mutually beneficial partnerships. The event has brought about an Investment interest from various private investors and PSUs to the tune of ₹ 4.48 lakh crore. iv. Model Tourism Circuits The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER), in coordination with the Governments of the eight North Eastern States, has launched an initiative for the development Model Tourist Circuit with the objective of positioning the North East as a sustainable, inclusive, and high-value tourism corridor. The initiative is aligned with the national vision of tourism-led economic growth, cultural preservation, and enhanced national and global visibility of the North Eastern Region. S. No. State Model Tourist Circuit 1. Arunachal Pradesh Itanagar-Chullyu-Ziro 2. Assam Jorhat- Kaziranga- Tezpur 3. Manipur Imphal- Moriang- Imphal 4. Meghalaya Guwahati- Shillong- Sohra- Nongriat 5. Mizoram Lengpui – Aizawl – Thenzawl6. Nagaland Dimapur – Kohima – Kisama– Dzukou 7. Sikkim Namchi- Temi- Ravangla Agartala - Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary – Tripura 8. Tripura Sundari Temple – Gunabati Temples – Neermahal - Chabimura v. USP To embed the North Eastern Region (NER) firmly within India’s growth discourse, the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) is adopting a USP-driven branding strategy for all eight states. These USPs have been chosen after a detailed Comparative and Competitive analysis of all 8 States vis-à-vis each other and vis-a-vis other States and neighbouring countries S. No. State USP 1. Arunachal Pradesh Kiwi 2. Assam Muga Silk 3. Manipur Polo 4. Meghalaya Lakadong Turmeric 5. Mizoram Ginger 6. Nagaland Coffee 7. Sikkim Organic Farming 8. Tripura Queen Pineapple vi. Agarwood: It is one of the highest valued non-timber forest product, grows in abundance in North East.As per the Botanical Survey of India in an assessment made in 2024, north east statesaccount for about 96.6% of India’s agarwood tree base in India. Due to its high export potential, Government on the basis of its recommendationof an Inter-Ministerial Task Force in 2023approved a roadmap in 2024to guide sustainable cultivation, processing and trade. The NE States have been advised to prepare area-expansion plans, supported by geospatial mapping in Tripura and Assam, while export promotion has been significantly strengthened through enhancement of annual export quotas under CITES Convention to 1,51,080 kg for chips and7,050 kg for oil. To streamline exports, processing of application for export of agarwood products has been integrated on the DGFT portal. GI tagging has also been taken up by North Eastern Region Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC) Ltd in collaboration with NABARD.Proof of Concept (PoC) has also been approved for development of two Agarwood clusters at Kadamtala (Tripura) and Golaghat (Assam). Collectively, these interventions aim to expand cultivation, strengthen value chains, and boost formal, traceable agarwood exports from the North Eastern Region. vii. Bamboo: A total 25 projects worth ₹ 236.53 crore for strengthening bamboo sector in NER have been sanctioned by NEC. North East Cane and Bamboo Development Council (NECBDC) has trained a total of 5068 bamboo artisans and officials during the last three years. Ministry of DoNER has sanctioned two Projects with a total outlay of ₹ 82.50 crore for strengthening of traditional bamboo artisan clusters by enhancing market access, modernizing products, and linking them with digital and retail ecosystem; as well as for promotion of engineered bamboo products through cluster strengthening and export facilitation in NER. viii. High Level Task Force Focused development is improving connectivity, livelihoods, and regional integration in the North Eastern Region (NER) through coordinated policy interventions and targeted sectoral initiatives. The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) has constituted eight High-Level Task Forces (HLTFs) for accelerating sectoral growth in the region, each chaired by a Chief Minister of a North Eastern State, with the Union Minister (MDoNER) and three other Chief Ministers as members. These Task Forces have been formed on the subject such as, (1) Promotion of Sports in NER, (2) North East Economic Corridor, (3) Investment Promotion in NER, (4) Handlooms and Handicrafts in NER, (5) Tourism in NER, (6) Infrastructure and Connectivity in NER, (7) Agriculture & Horticulture for addressing gaps in value chain and market, and (8) Attaining Self-reliance in milk, eggs, fish and meat production in NER. *****