Press Information Bureau

Union Minister of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region (DONER), Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia participated in the High-Level Task Force (HLTF) on “Logistics, Infrastructure Connectivity in NER” on Wednesday (6 August, 2025). Chief Minister of Assam, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma chaired the meeting with esteemed members including the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Shri Pema Khandu, Prof. Lalnilawma, Minister of Public Health Engineering & Rural Development of Mizoram, and Shri Tshering Thendup Bhutia, Minister of Commerce & Industries of Sikkim along with officials from MDoNER.

The HLTF meeting focused on critical gaps in the North Eastern Region in the sectors of Highways, Railways, Waterways, Airways, Logistics, and digital connectivity. To bridge these gaps, the HLTF meeting decided to formulate a comprehensive Infrastructure Masterplan. The plan will be developed in consultation with all eight North Eastern States and Central Ministries, ensuring a collaborative approach to regional development.

The key points of discussion during the meeting included identification of state-specific bottlenecks and challenges, critical connectivity gaps and prioritized infrastructure needs, integration of state budgets & national investments for capital formation, and implementation roadmap for Viksit NER @ 2047.

The Chief Minister of Assam, emphasized on the strategic importance of the North Eastern Region as gateway to the Southeast Asia. He highlighted that since 2014, the Government has taken several steps to boost infrastructure connectivity in NER, however the high transportation cost for goods still remains a major bottleneck that needs to be addressed. He further stated that the execution of Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP) has expedited and it will connect the NER to the Sittwe Port in Myanmar.

The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh highlighted that due to high geographical spread and sparse population distribution in Arunachal Pradesh there are still a large number of villages which are lacking road connectivity. He suggested that the HLTF may explore providing connectivity to these villages through PMGSY and other relevant Government of India schemes. He further stated that the air connectivity to the Hollongi Airport can be enhanced by increasing the frequency of flights and the number of airline operators operating from the State. Further, he stressed the need to reorient North Eastern Council (NEC) to function as a think tank for holistic growth of NER on the lines of NITI Aayog.

The Minister of Public Health Engineering & Rural Development, Mizoram, highlighted the issue of high logistics cost in NER due to which the cost of local produce and commodities increases by more than 20% thereby making these products less competitive. He also outlined the need for improving digital connectivity in the State.

Shri Tshering Thendup Bhutia, Minister of Commerce & Industries, Sikkim, highlighted that an alternate road alignment to the existing NH-10 needs to be developed as the NH-10 road connectivity gets affected every year by torrential rainfall and landslides. He emphasized the need for developing climate resilient infrastructure in NER. He further emphasized the need to develop infrastructure to boost trade with Nepal.

The Union Minister of MDoNER outlined five suggestions for bridging infrastructure and connectivity gaps: (i) Convergence of NER Infrastructure Grid by preparing a regional Master Plan (ii) Establishment of a Monitoring Mechanism for priority projects for the NER (iii) Policy push for Multimodal logistic park by way of offering various tax and other concessions (iv) Boosting cross border connectivity to promote International trade with neighbouring countries (v) Enhancing digital connectivity and  power transmission infrastructure.

The Union Minister, MDoNER further added that all the infrastructure projects in the NER should be mapped on the PM GatiShakti Portal for better planning of future projects. He urged all the NER States that they should update their state Logistics Policy as per the metric prepared by the Ministry based on the best practices throughout the country, preferably before the next NEC Plenary Session. The industrial clusters may be developed in the NER along the transport corridors for rapid economic growth of the region.

Earlier this year, the Centre had formed Eight High-Level Task Force, each headed by one of the Chief Ministers of the NE State along, with Union Minister (MDoNER) and three Chief Ministers of other States as members. The initiative stems from a consensus reached during the 72^ndPlenary Session of the North Eastern Council (NEC), held on December 21, 2024, at Agartala.

HLTFs have been formed on (1) Promotion of Sports in NER; (2) North East Economic corridor; (3) Investment Promotion in NER; (4) Handlooms & Handicrafts in NER; (5) Tourism in NER; (6) Infrastructure, Logistics’ cost 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.

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Samrat/Allen