Infrastructure Development in North East region

The funds allocated and expenditure on the construction ofroads and railway lines in the North-Eastern Region(NER) States during the last five years from 2016-17 to 2020-21 and State-wise details are given at Annexure I. The details of railway and road projects sanctioned in the NER States during the last five years from 2016-17 to 2020-21 and their current status is given at Annexure II.

In addition, roads are also constructed in the NER under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). A total of Rs. 19,537.83 crore was spent in NER in the period 2016-17 to 2020-21 under PMGSY. The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, through its schemes, has sanctioned 68 road and bridges projects in NER worth Rs. 2,647.68 crore in the period 2018-19 to 2020-21.

As per the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, as in October 2021, the length of National Highways(NH) per 1000 sq. km of area in the North  Eastern Region is 52 km as compared to 40.2 km for the country.The length of NH in each of the NER States is more than the national average,except Arunachal Pradesh,as shown in Table 1 below.

As on 01.04.2020, against a national average of 21 km/1000 sq. km.railway network density, North Eastern States have an average railway network density of 10.79 km/1000 sq. km. To bridge this gap, 14 new line projects have been taken up in the North Eastern Region having a total length of 1,181 km at a total cost of Rs. 56,553crore.  An outlay of Rs. 4,300 crore has been provided in 2021-22 for these projects.