Guwahati, Oct. 7: The National Transport Development Policy Committee has estimated that Rs 1,55,000 crore would be required for development of transport infrastructure in the Northeast.

The Centre had set up high-level committee in 2010 to provide guidance on a long-term transport policy for the country and for the first time, separate attention has been paid to the transport needs of the Northeast.

In its final report to the committee recently, the working group on improvement and development of transport infrastructure in the region said it was necessary for development of transport in the Northeast ahead of transportation links with neighbouring countries.

This would help to use the subsequent connectivity with neighbouring countries by way of enhanced trade and commercial activities.

The report said the challenges of infrastructure creation in the region are to complete the provision of infrastructure by 2025 and create institutional and functional mechanisms to sustain and maintain the infrastructure. Another challenge was to create a policy regime for free movement of goods and people — within the region, from the Northeast to rest of India and international neighbours.

According to the report, the requirement for roads is Rs 75,000 crore, Rs 60,000 crore for railways, Rs 10,000 crore each for civil aviation and inland waterways.

The projected funds requirement has been worked out on the basis of the current expenditure of infrastructure ministries in the Northeast states. The funds requirement is estimated from the 12th to 15th Five Year Plans. According to the extant policy of the Centre, the ministries (except a few) have to spend at least 10 per cent of their gross budgetary support for the region and over and above this, the Planning Commission assists the states. The report said all construction agencies are beset with problems of accessing construction material, poor roads and unavailability of rail links and hence, there was a need to have a joint strategy for such agencies to get over the shortage of steel, cement, sand and stone chips and their means of transport. According to an assessment, approximately 4,590 lakh tonnes of material would be required for the next 30 years and an innovative solution could be to source ballast from Myanmar.

The report also laid stress on the development of alternative routes from the Northeast to West Bengal, so that the region is not isolated during any future hostility.

It also highlighted the need for transport planning at three levels — intra-regional, the rest of India and with neighbouring countries and beyond to Southeast Asia and China.

The report said at present, there is hardly any inter-sectoral planning amongst the five infrastructure sectors — road, civil aviation, rail, inland waterways and telecommunication. The standard of roads being built to link the district headquarters under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for Northeast should be gradually raised so that the container load can be carried in plain districts of Assam and other important transit points like Dimapur in Nagaland and Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh.

On railways, the report set an annual target of 150-200km tracks annually. In 2011-12, it added 150km in the Northeast.

“Construction capacity and planning should be strengthened so the railways are able to construct 150km to 200km every year. Financial support for strategic important lines should be provided by the finance ministry and from railway resources regularly,” the report said.