Union Home Minister to Tour Reang Tribal Camps in Tripura on December 22

Agartala, Dec 18 (NationPress) Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to attend the 72nd Plenary Session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Agartala on December 21, after which he will visit the Reang tribal settlement camps located in the Dhalai district the following day, according to officials.

In 1997, over 37,135 displaced Reang tribals fled from Mizoram due to ethnic conflicts and have since settled in 12 different locations across four districts of Tripura — North Tripura, Dhalai, Gomati, and South Tripura.

Following years of disputes and protests, a quadripartite agreement was reached in January 2020 involving the Centre, the governments of Tripura and Mizoram, along with Reang tribal leaders, to resettle the 37,136 tribal immigrants, consisting of 6,302 families, across 12 locations in four of Tripura's eight districts.

A Tripura government official mentioned that the Home Minister will visit the Reang tribal settlement camp at Bruha para (Haduklau para) in Dhalai on December 22 and is expected to address a public gathering at Masurai Para in the same district.

On that same day, Shah will also participate in the National Cooperative Conference at Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhavan in Agartala.

The Home Minister, along with Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Minister for the Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), and the Governors and Chief Ministers from all eight northeastern states, will be present at the NEC Plenary Session in Agartala on December 21.

According to the official, the meeting will also host Deputy Chief Ministers, top officials from the Centre, and representatives from the eight northeastern states to discuss various ongoing and proposed development initiatives during a two-day critical meeting of the NEC, which serves as a regional planning body.

A review meeting regarding the operations and planning of the North Eastern Space Application Centre (NESAC) is scheduled for December 22 as well.

The Union Home Minister will be joined by S. Somanath, the Chairman of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), at the NESAC meeting.

As the President of the NESAC Society, the Union Home Minister oversees regional projects while the ISRO chief heads the NESAC Governing Council.

Utilizing satellite-based imagery and analytical studies, NESAC, located in Umiam, Meghalaya, has assisted northeastern states in the planning, preparation, and monitoring of a variety of projects, including agriculture and infrastructure.

Originally scheduled for August 31 and September 1, the NEC plenary session was postponed due to severe flooding in Tripura.

During the previous NEC meeting held in Shillong, the Union Home Minister remarked that over its 50-year history, the NEC has significantly accelerated the region's development by providing a policy framework for all states and streamlining solutions to their challenges.

He highlighted that during this period, more than 12,000 km of roads have been built in the region, 700 MW power plants have been established, and numerous national centers of excellence have been founded under NEC's guidance.

Emphasizing the NEC's role under the Act East Policy, the Home Minister stated that the Modi government has made considerable progress in addressing issues related to law and order, insurgency, and border security in the region.

Headquartered in Shillong, Meghalaya, the NEC serves as a regional planning and statutory advisory body for eight northeastern states, including Sikkim, and was established under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971, coming into existence on November 7, 1972.