Northeast states pitch stable law and order, happiness index to attract investment

“Your impression about the Northeast, please correct it. We are not running around with guns and spears. Law and order (wise it) is the most peaceful place in India. Trust me on that. Many places… I don’t want to name, but comparably, we are far more peaceful and investors can come in. It is more peaceful than mainland India, I can bet on it,” he said.

Officials from eight states – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura – attended the seminar. They highlighted that the region being closer to several countries such as Bangladesh and Myanmar presented “a unique export

opportunity”.

Potential areas where the states sought investment included agri-horticulture and allied sectors like food processing, tourism, sports, academies, music as well as textile and handicraft, said Chanchal Kumar, secretary of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MdoNER), at the seminar.

(Retired) Commodore Rajiv Ashok, managing director of NERAMAC (North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited) highlighted that sectors of bamboo and rubber “are relatively untapped” .

Pointing out that the pace of change has been one of the fastest in the Northeast, Ahammed said that it is better to invest in the region than in “Timbuktu (in Mali), Kenya, Ulaanbaatar (in Mongolia), wherever you go, as return on investment is much better”.

Outlining the advantage of Northeast’s proximity to Southeast Asian nations, Ahammed implored that instead of an ‘Act East’ policy, one should be “looking from East and acting from East”, as travelling to Singapore from Shillong or Guwahati is significantly shorter time than travelling to Mumbai or Ahmedabad.

“The Great Asian Highway (an underconstruction network of roads connecting 32 countries) will be a grand development for the whole of Northeast because historically, the produce of Northeast used to roll down the hills from Meghalaya to Bangladesh…,” he said.

“…if Northeast can have an international corridor, connecting Guwahati or Chittagong port, it would be a big gamechanger. Average time taken for a truck to go from Guwahati to Kolkata port is 30-32 hours and the cost is high. Shillong to Chittagong port is hardly 360 km…,” he added.

Mizoram Secretary (Tourism) Dr Lalrozama pitched the state as conducive for investment by stating that it is the “happiest state in India”, renowned for its disciplined environment and peace and order. Nagaland Secretary Hukugha Sema said the state has lowest crime rate in India, with only one murder a year per lakh population.

Sikkim Chief Secretary C S Rao pointed out that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the Pakyong airport in 2018, “due to non-availability of aircraft, SpiceJet has not been operating since October”. “Its contract will be over by January 22. We are waiting for some agency to resume operations… after that we are definitely going to provide continuous connectivity to Sikkim,” Rao added.