TheStatesmen

Rajat Jain

Kumar Utkarsh

Anurag Roy

Nikhil Jain

Rutuja Chhajed

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2 THE STATESMEN

• Strategically located at cross roads between 3 major economies spanning across East Asia, South Asia

and South East Asia offering a vantage entry point & access to their markets.

• Gateway for our Look East Policy as it is geographically situated between mainland India and SE

Asia.

• Tripura is the second rubber capital of India after Kerala, with a capacity of 35760

hectares as against the present 10000 hectares of rubber plantations.

• Vast expanses of fertile land and has the potential to become the Food Bowl of our country.

• 65 % of India's and 20 % of global bamboo production.

• Immense hydel power resources, with a staggering 50328 MW identified in Arunachal Pradesh

alone, that can cater to the power deficient parts of mainland India and solve the energy crisis faced

by our country.

• 3839 km of navigable river routes, channelling through major towns and cities of the North-East,

thus augmenting connectivity in the rough terrain.

• Huge talent pool with a staggering average literacy rate capped at 79.64 % as against national

average of 74.04 % according to 2011 census which implies a huge English speaking population.

• A Tourists' Paradise.

1.

•A wrangling separatist struggle has continued in the region since the late 140s, making it the longest running separatist struggle in South Asia.

2.

•Heavy deployment of armed forces in region, causing all the more discontent among the indigenous people. The draconian AFSPA has been prevalent here for decades & allegations have surfaced that the army has misused it to harass civilians.

3.

• Innumerable territorial disputes exist between different states - Manipur and Nagaland, Nagaland and Assam, Meghalaya and Assam, Mizoram and Assam, etc. Arunachal Pradesh is also facing the brunt of frequent ingresses by the Chinese army.

4. •Displacement of 3,00,000 people in the fallout following the violence that broke out between Bodo

tribes and Muslim migrants in Kokrajhar, Assam on 20th July, 2012.

5. •Second-class citizenship to North-Eastern people in mainland India.

Sta

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Dismal state of Agriculture

Poor connectivity

2.6 million jobs between 2011 and 2021 as against 17 million job seekers.

Out of India's export volume of about $254.4 billion, NE's share is only $0.01 billion (0.0039 %).

Extreme shortage of power all across the spectrum. In Arunachal, 90.33% out of identified 50328 MW yet to be exploited. 86.55% yet to be developed in Meghalaya with

similar conditions prevalent in all other states.

CROP INDIA NE % SHARE OF NE

Rice 99182.4 5813.2 5.9

Wheat 80679.4 71.6 0.1

Cereals 40037.9 337.2 0.8

Pulses 14566.7 143.4 1.0

Food Grains 234466.4 6365.4 2.7

Oil Seeds 27719.0 260.1 0.9

Dismal state of Agriculture

Lean Agricultural Productivity

Fertilizers have hardly been introduced, as can be deduced from the stated figures: 2.35 kg/hectare in the region as against national average - 135.27 kg/hectare.

Electricity dedicated to agriculture is under 1 % of the total as against national average of

20.43%.

Poor Connectivity

Railways not viable due to hilly terrain, challenging topography

A Railway line to Manipur has been under work for years now. It is yet to be completed. The result is fuel, cooking gas, edible

commodities, etc, has to travel via road. If there is a disruption, people living in Manipur have no way of getting these

commodities.

Road infrastructure highly deficient; 196.96 road density per 1000 sq km as against 965.73 in India.

Similarly, there is just one airstrip in Mizoram and none at all anywhere near Arunachal Pradesh. More often than not, inclement weather conditions make

it impossible for flights to land or take off. There is absolutely no night landing facility.

REGION Railway

Route

(Kilometres)

Area

(Sq Kms)

Railway

Route (Kms

per 100 sq

kms of area)

NER 2452.07 262185 9.35

INDIA 64014.88 3287869 19.47 (in thousand tonnes)

There is a similarity observed in all the separatist struggles

the world over. It is the simmering discontent among the locals. It is the anger and

the hatred for the incumbents. It is the determination to attain

complete control over the resources of one's region.

The whole point is that development needs to be inclusive to be the real

development. Otherwise, it just makes the developed more

developed and the impoverished more impoverished. It

aggravates tension between the rulers and the ruled.

What are the reasons for this discontent

and anger? The people of Kashmir were

happy when the Indian army entered

Kashmir in 1948 to protect it from the

Pakistani intruders. But, slowly when the

army started setting camps, building

bunkers, acquiring ancestral lands of the

locals and used a high handed approach to

curb agitations, the discontent and the

demand for freedom began to rise.

In Darjeeling, when big businessmen

established industries, initially locals

were happy to get employment. But

slowly, when they realised that these

businesses were prospering with their

timber, tea and boulders from the

river beds while they were forced to

live in hutments, they started getting

discontented.

The solution that will put an end to the

separatist demands in the north-east is the

holistic and inclusive development. Locals

do not have to be given employment in

factories, they have to be made the owners.

They do not have to be made travel guides,

they should own the hotels. They should be

the ones leading the change, not the ones

getting changed.

Obviously, poor, impoverished people

cannot start a petroleum refinery. They

cannot open a manufacturing company.

Hence, we suggest that the region should

have small and medium scale industries.

These should be financed by the

government for the locals. How exactly

the process should work has been

explained in further slides.

IDENTIFYING THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEMS

4) The selection of the people to whom these

hotels will be leased or to whom loans will

be given should be strictly on the basis of

competition. The screening can be done on

the basis of economic conditions of the

person and his/her educational

qualifications. Then, there can be written

examinations or business plan competitions

to select the best.

5) Considering the highly literate population

of this region, there is no shortage of people

who are qualified enough for this task of

running the tourism industry.

6) This scheme will lead to a decrease in the

number of dropouts from schools as

educational qualification will mean a

lucrative business.

7) To attract more tourists, government can

subsidise air tickets to north eastern cities.

PROMOTING TOURISM : AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH

8) Obviously the question arises from

where will the government provide so

much money? The region receives highest

per capita investment by the centre,

averaging INR 2574.98 against all India

average of INR 683.95 during the 11th Five

year plan. Considering the present

scenario, it is imperative that this money is

being utilized for poor output activities.

The need of the hour is to invest the money

in proper places. This proposed scheme is

one such area where this huge money can

be invested.

9) After the success of this scheme in the

tourism sector, similar schemes can be

introduced to promote green revolution,

food processing industries, horticulture,

etc among the locals.

1) The North Eastern India is a tourists'

paradise. With lush green hills & mighty

rivers the region is Nature's Own

Country. The tourism industry alone can

sustain the economy of this region. To

attract tourists, what is needed is proper

accommodation and other facilities for

them.

2) For an inclusive and holistic

development, it is imperative that locals

own the tourism industry. Here, the

government has to play the pivotal role.

3) Government can provide interest free

loans to the locals to open hotels or the

government can open hotels and give

them on lease.

Green Revolution backed by financial institutions, R&D

and marketing functionaries.

Region's comparative advantage in producing fruits, vegetables

and spices can be tapped by setting up small scale processing

units for local markets which will also boost rural employment.

Small processing units need little capital. So, setup is economically

viable.

Considering difficult terrains, we can have common food parks

to provide common facilities like cold storage, warehouse,

quality control labs, packaging, tool room, power and water

supply, sewerage treatment, etc.

Agro and food processing SEZ can be established in the

region.

Private entrepreneurs must be encouraged to establish storage,

distribution and marketing infrastructure such as a cold storage chain

along major arterial highways. For cold chain operations, PPP or lease

can be explored.

There is a huge demand for dried fish in this region,

processing of which is not capital intensive. Fishery

processing, dairy processing and poultry will lead to increase

in production that can be exported.

As rice is the main crop, rice based farming systems involving

pisciculture and rearing of animals, poultry, piggery and goat

can be introduced as an integrated farming system.

As the region is largely unirrigated, rice is followed by fallow.

However, residual moisture in the soil being high, it is possible

to take a second crop in Rabi of oilseeds, pulses or vegetables.

Areas prone to waterlogging can be put under profitable

aquatic farming systems for Singhara, Makhana, Swamp-taro

as well as fisheries.

Orchids, flowers, medicinal and aromatic plants, fruits,

vegetables, etc can be produced in bounty. Government

should assist in horticulture and organic farming.

BOOSTING AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

ENHANCING CONNECTIVITY IN THE

REGION

DEVELOPING THE REGION AS AN ENERGY

HUB

MANAGING THE IMMENSE HUMAN

RESOURCES

1) Inland water transport can be a viable, cost effective alternative in plains given high cost of expanding other modes of transportation. It'll also create employment opportunities, promote tourism and open up inter country routes for trade and commerce. Night navigation needs to be improved. Cargo vessels and terminals must be increased.

2) There is an urgent need of more domestic and international airports in the region. Night landing must be made possible.

3) Transit access through Bangladesh can end the geographical isolation of the north east.

1) The unbridled flow of gushing rivers

alongside untapped wind and

hydroelectric power could wind up

solving the energy crisis faced by our

nation presently.

2) There is so much hydel power that it

can be exported to power deficient parts

of mainland India. 50328 MW has been

identified in Arunachal Pradesh alone.

More than 90% of it is yet to be

developed. There is an urgent need to

develop it.

3) The region is believed to have huge

reserves of oil and gas. We need to

accelerate our oil and gas exploration

programmes in the region.

4) The region has huge deposits of coal.

Scientific processes must be introduced

in mining to increase the output and

maintain the delicate ecological balance

of the region.

1) Institutions of higher education focussing on

environment sciences like botany, social

forestry, ecology sciences, etc. need to come up.

Agriculture universities need to encourage

research in improved cropping and

productivity. Training institutes in food

processing must come up.

2) Various governments give free textbooks to

all students upto class 9. Those who have

studied for free upto class 9 will naturally drop

from school, when asked to pay money all of a

sudden. So, free textbooks should be given

upto class 12th. In colleges, SC/ST book banks

already exist.

3) Train locals in trades relating to exploration

and production of oil and gas. This will

generate employment as well as aid in our

energy independence mission.

4) Develop hydel power to give jobs to

engineers and technicians and to generate

cheap electricity.

5) Open call centres as there is large english

speaking population.

6) Hotels and hospitality industry needs to

come up to employ people.

Imp

ort

an

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of

Ba

ng

lad

esh

Transit access through Bangladesh is necessary to end the geographical and economic isolation of the

NE India.

We need the support of the Bangladeshi establishment to prevent the emergence of a second front of Islamic radicalism on India's eastern borders, especially with

more trouble expected in Kashmir after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

A large number of terror outfits and insurgent groups have formed their operating bases in Bangladesh. It is only with the support of Bangladesh that these can be stemmed out and normalcy can return to NE India.

It is in our strategic interest to have access to Mongla and Chittagong sea ports for movement of

goods to and from India.

Goodwill of the Bangladeshi

Government

Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League have

been true to their word and have severely

restricted the activities of Indian insurgent

groups like ULFA and terror groups like

LeT and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.

Bangladesh handed over ULFA leader

Anup Chetia and reopened Chittagong

arms haul case of 2004. After Mumbai

terror attacks, the Indian Government

conveyed to Dhaka its concerns about

Bangladeshi links to the terror outfits

responsible for the assault. Quickly

following upon Indian concerns,

Bangladesh arrested Abdul Rouf Daud

Merchant, an operative of the mafia gang

headed by Dawood Ibrahim.

of 1983 allows India and Bangladesh to share 75% of the river water on a 39 and 36 percent basis. In 2011, during PM Manmohan Singh's visit, it was announced that remaining 25% would be shared on a 50:50 basis. Opposition from the Trinamool Congress refrained India from signing the deal. Bangladesh decided not to sign the agreement allowing transit access to India.

must be signed. It was signed on 8 September, 2011 and is yet to be ratified by the Parliament. It would give India a clear and demarcated border with Bangladesh and would bring around 200 enclaves out of isolation and abject poverty. Instead of fuelling jingoism over a few kilometres of enclave territory, the objecting parties would do well to support the Bill meant to formalise the agreement.

We need to increase the bilateral trade from current 5.099 billion US $. Non tariff barriers are the single greatest hindrance to increasing trade. These (introduced by India) include packaging requirements, laboratory testing of food and cosmetics, custom clearances, etc. This has caused resentment among Bangladeshis. They must be removed. Some of them have been dismantled but lot more needs to be done.

would

lead to reduced river flow from the Barak

River and its 2 downstream channels and

this would cause great ecological damage on

the Bangladeshi side. NE Bangladesh may

become a desert and livelihood of thousands

of people who depend on the river will be

destroyed.

has been financed by a grant from

India. We need to start more such

projects.

If these agreements don't come through,

they will adversely affect the

chances of returning to power

in Bangladesh. This will mean an end of

the hopes for our . A regime change

in Bangladesh is what New Delhi can

least afford now.

have

been opened. This is a

fulfilment of the long standing

demand of the local people of

the area and it is hoped that the

resulting economic activity

would contribute to the

economic upliftment of the

people of the area surrounding

border haats. More such Haats

should be opened, both along

Bangladeshi as well as

Myanmar border.

Various conflicts and problems in the North East represent durable challenges to the integrative and accommodative capacity of the Indian democracy. We need to support, facilitate and contribute to civil society engagement, participation and intervention in the region with regard to conflict prevention. We need to facilitate intermediation between various stakeholders involved in the conflict - public, civil society activists, state representatives, journalists, academicians, researchers, etc. We need to contribute to the promotion of integration and socialisation into a democratic political culture through dialogue and civil education. We need to promote peaceful coexistence of conflict affected ethnic groups through strengthened democratic processes, with gender being a cross cutting issue.

Government and private sectors need to collaborate and take the lead in providing solutions to the problems like abysmal state of infrastructure, poor connectivity, rampant unemployment, low pace of economic development, law and order problems, incessant communal strife, etc. There needs to be investment in agriculture, hydel power, infrastructure as well as in creating new avenues of growth through the development of vertically integrated food processing chains, market linked skill development, cross border trade, tourism, etc.

Our North East can become our greatest asset. It can provide us energy, food, access to the East Asian markets and can generate huge revenues through tourism. We only need to provide the right impetus to this region. The good thing is that we are moving in the right direction. We only need to keep moving till our goal is attained.

CONCLUSIONS