New Delhi: The Nagaland Chief Minister, Shri Neiphiu Rio along with a delegation of senior officers, today met Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh and discussed with him the proposal for setting up an airport at “Ciethu” in the capital city of Kohima.
Dr Jitendra Singh conveyed to the Chief Minister that the proposal to set up an airport at Kohima is being pursued seriously by the DoNER Ministry and after an appropriate site was identified by the State Government, a technical feasibility report was also prepared by the Airport Authority of India which was favorable for an all-weather airport.
The Chief Minister conveyed to the DoNER Minister that the total estimated cost to set up an airport could be around Rs. 6,000 crore and requested that a part of it could be funded by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) or the North-Eastern Council (NEC). The DoNER Minister informed the Chief Minister that a proposal has been sent by his Ministry for sanction of Rs. 1,000 crore towards the project.
Dr Jitendra Singh conveyed that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has high prioritization of all the eight North Eastern States, particularly the far-flung ones like Nagaland. He said, under the directions of the Prime Minister, all the development projects of NE are put on a fast-track and a follow-up is done on a regular basis to complete these projects within the stipulated timeline.
Dr Jitendra Singh also conveyed keen desire of the Centre Government to ensure equitable development of Nagaland and at the same time, find a lasting end to insurgency-related incidents.
