On Monday, 2nd July 2018, an official said that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will chair the 67th plenary of the North Eastern Council (NEC), a regional planning body of eight northeastern states, in Shillong from July nine.
Members of the newly reconstituted NEC, Governors and Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura will also attend the meet.
The Union Cabinet brought the NEC under the direct control of the Ministry of Home Affairs on 13th June. The Union Home Minister is the ex-officio chairperson of the council.
Vice Chairman will be Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister Jitender Singh.
The first session of the NEC meeting will include tabling of an action-taken report on the 64th plenary and approval of the draft annual plan of NEC for 2018-19 by the council.
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Infrastructure and connectivity in the region will be other topics to be discussed. Officials from ministries of road transport and highways, railways, water resources, civil aviation, power, tourism and human resource development will participate in the same.
The re-positioning of the council will provide a forum for more comprehensive discussions on inter-state matters said NEC officials.
The NEC will also perform the tasks undertaken by various zonal councils pertaining to inter-state issues like drug trafficking, smuggling of arms and ammunition, and boundary dispute but under new arrangement.
The NEC has been instrumental in setting in motion a new economic endeavour aimed at removing roadblocks towards the development of the northeastern region.
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