Tripura shares an open and porous international border of 856 km with Bangladesh. Because of this, extremists groups that were operating in Tripura were able to function from camps/hideouts in Bangladesh. These extremists would infiltrate the border and create enormous problems by way of abduction, extortions and assaults. Coupled with this was the problem of illegal migrants. The Tripura Government took up these issues with the Centre and urged it to effectively seal the border and mount pressure on Bangladesh to dismantle the bases of the banned militant outfits and handover the extremists. The Centre has been persuading the matters with its counterparts but the response from Bangladesh is negative because of diplomatic reasons. Camps/hideouts of the militant organisation still exist in Bangladesh which is a cause of serious concern not only for regional security but also for national security. The Government of Tripura is alert about the situation and does not suffer from any complacency.As far as sealing of the border is concerned, the Government of India took up fencing due to the Tripura Government’s incessant endeavour. However, there are quite a few problems with border fencing. Only 65 per cent of fencing has been completed and the quality is unsatisfactory. Besides, the strength of BSF personnel needs to be increased to enable effective border patrolling.Moreover, bulk of the problem that Tripura now faces can be traced to the Partition of the country in 1947. Due to Partition, Tripura faced a disadvantage of location as three fourths of her sides were surrounded by Bangladesh. All the critical infrastructure like roads, railways and trading centres fell on Bangladesh’s side. This resulted in Tripura being a land locked state, making connectivity a vital issue.Tripura had to initiate the building of physical infrastructure from scratch. The state Government is working with all earnestness and the results are showing. The quality of national highways and state highways has been improving and rail connectivity till Agartala will be completed in a couple of months. Power capacity is being augmented and the telecommunication network is being strengthened.On whether Tripura, as part of the north-east, feels “neglected” by the Centre, I think it is all about perspective and time. If one looks at the north-east from the perspective of its distance from the rest of country, the situation is that of disadvantage. The moment one looks at north-eastern states with respect to its geographical proximity to South East Asia, the situation is that of advantage. That’s why I emphasise that the Centre should implement the Look East policy with vigour and zeal. So far, action in this regard from the Centre has not been up to the mark. As far as the belief that a lot of money is sanctioned for development in the north-east, but it does not always “show”, I can only speak about Tripura. The governance in Tripura is known for its transparency and accountability. Funds that have come for the development of the state have gone into the generation of assets. Already, Tripura’s success story in literacy and in achieving at par/better performance with respect to human indicators and development of physical infrastructure is well documented. Further, the state Government has earned appreciation with regards to financial discipline. As of now, more than 94 per cent of the planned funds made available has been utilised. In the last 10 years of its functioning, the state Government has not subscribed to the Over Draft facility even once. This goes on to show the commitment the state Government has towards fiscal prudence. Basically, the Left party’s political vision is to improve the quality of life of people on a continuous basis and not as a one time initiative, to remove poverty and alleviate the people living below the poverty line and ensure access to education and health to all. Extremists having secessionist approach are bent on disturbing the amity and unity of Tripura. The Left Front Government is trying its best to maintain peace and amity in the state. The Government is also working constantly to debunk the wrong ideological and political propaganda of the extremist outfits. The developmental model adopted is holistic in its approach with a special focus on tribals and tribal concentrated areas.
