Amit Shah inaugurates several development projects in Manipur

Imphal (Manipur) [India], December 27 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated several development projects in Manipur on Sunday.
Amit Shah inaugurated the e-office and Thoubal Multipurpose Project (Thoubal Dam) in Imphal through virtual mode. He also laid the foundation stone of seven major development projects, including the Churachandpur Medical College, IT-SEZ at Mantripukhri, Manipur Bhawan in Dwarka, New Delhi and the Integrated Command and Control Center at Imphal, as per a press statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Union Minister for Development of North-Eastern Region, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
Speaking on this occasion, Amit Shah said this day marks an important milestone in the developmental journey of Manipur started under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Today many important projects are being started in a single day, including a Medical College at Churachandpur, IIIT and IT-SEZ at Mantripukhri, which will serve as a benchmark for the entire North East.
Shah said the State Police Headquarters and Smart City Integrated Center at Imphal will help in advancing Smart Governance. He said the IIIT and IT-SEZ will connect the youth of Manipur with the world. After the creation of IT-SEZ, the GDP of Manipur will increase by Rs 4,600 crore annually and there will be employment generation for 44,000 people. With the establishment of the medical college, the youth of Manipur will come out as doctors and the health system of the state will be strengthened.
The Union Home Minister said under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the state Chief Minister, has steered Manipur out of bandhs and blockades on the path of development. Modi ji is committed to the development of the entire North-East and the trust of the people here will never be compromised.
Shah said the Chief Minister of Manipur Biren Singh has done remarkable work in the last three years. There has not been a single shutdown in the last three years, which proves that people flourish under the rule of the BJP.
Biren Singh has led Manipur on the path of development under the leadership of the Prime Minister, and has given a new identity to Manipur, he said.
Shah said the entire North- East is very close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's heart, and the Prime Minister says Eastern India and Western India are the two arms of Mother India. Western India has developed, but without the development of Eastern India, India's development is not possible.
After 2014, there has been huge amount of development in the North East under the leadership of Narendra Modi. The North-East was previously known for separatism and different insurgent movements, but over the past six-and-a-half years many organizations, one after the other, have laid down their arms and the remaining ones too, having faith in the leadership of Modi, will join the mainstream, he said.
The Union Home Minister said the North-East has never received such attention earlier and Modi ji has specially visited the North-East more than 40 times in the last six-and-a-half years, and has visited all the states, which proves the priority Modi accords to the North East.
Shah said that Modi knows the heart of the people, the demand for the Inner Line Permit for its original residents existed for many years and on 11 December 2019, Modi ji decided not giving the Inner Line Permit to Manipur would be injustice to the original inhabitants of state. The Prime Minister granted Manipur the Inner Line Permit, which is the biggest achievement of the Central Government since the state of Manipur came into being.
Referring to the Thoubal Multipurpose Project, Shah said the scheme was launched in 2004 during Atal ji's time, but nothing happened till 2014 and the project remained on paper. In 2016, Modi ji restarted it by giving Rs. 462 crore and today this project that will irrigate 35,104 hectares is on the verge of completion. Shri Shah said earlier projects were abandoned after performing ground-breaking ceremonies and work is now being done under the leadership of Modi ji, to inaugurate all projects whose foundation stones were laid by previous governments.
The Union Home Minister said that earlier only 6 per cent people in the state had access to drinking water, but under the Jal Jeevan Mission, tapped water supply has reached 33 per cent households in the last 3 years from 6 per cent. There has been an increase of 222 per cent in the number of international tourists, which is going to benefit tourism in the times to come.
Shah said for a state with its geographic location like Manipur, the Startup scheme is very important and in this scheme started by Modi, 1,186 youth have begun their Startups which is a very encouraging sign.
Shah said that as compared to the 14th Finance Commission, there is an increase of 251 per cent during the 15th Finance Commission and our government has raised allocation to the North-East to Rs. 3,13,375 crore from Rs 89,168 crore. The Union Home Minister said a Sports University is being set up to promote sports in the state. He suggested to open in Manipur affiliated colleges of the National Forensic Science University so that children of North-East can also progress in this field. (ANI)