Infrastructure is a catalyst for development — Governor

Guwahati, Feb. 18 (PTI): Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi on Tuesday asserted that infrastructure is a catalyst for development.

He said the government is committed to the development of the state by strengthening infrastructure.

The Centre is very liberal in investing in infrastructure to eliminate service backlogs of northeast with special emphasis on rural areas, Mukhi said at the inaugural session of North East Infrastructure Development Conclave, organised by the CII-North East, here.

A well-planned infrastructure enables established businesses to expand their production levels and encourage small businesses to enter the market and as such, both Central and state governments are making concerted efforts to put in place a robust infrastructure for physical connectivity in the areas of air, water, internet and land transport, he said.

He said the Union budget has allocated funds for laying new tracks and doubling of railway lines in the northeast region, the governor said.

Electrification of railway lines under the Northeast Frontier Railways was also going on and by 2022 the three states of Mizoram, Manipur and Sikkim will be connected by railways, he added.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has also conceived of extensive national highway projects to give a boost to the region’s physical connectivity.

The governor also highlighted the measures being undertaken in northeast for bringing the region closer to the rest of the country with 12 airports in the region being operative and the Guwahati Airport being revamped with a new state of the art terminus.

Moreover, a seamless digital connectivity has been in use in the region by liberalising its cyber space with India and Bangladesh signing an agreement for using unspent bandwidth available at Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar in Chittagong to bring in a revolution not only in the northeast but also in some mainland states, he said.

Assam is nurtured by two great rivers–the Brahmaputra and Barak and both along with their many tributaries have huge potential for river transport, tourism and industry.

He also said that inland waterways in Assam received a boost during the last five years.

There was an urgent need for strengthening the physical infrastructure of Assam as it was the largest among the eight northeastern states, with a population of 33 million and area of 78 thousand square kilometre, the governor said.

In the face of growing urban population and rising urban infrastructural needs, solutions like planning newer modes of transportation systems especially for congested areas has become the need of the hour, he added.