The Union Minister of State for Rural Development , Ms Agatha Sangma has said that the Centre must start an institute in the North-Eastern States to train civil service offices.
It could be on the lines of the MCR HRD Institute in Hyderabad. This would give them a better appreciation of the problems being faced by citizens of the North-Eastern States. Currently, while the North East feels that enough development has not come to their region , the Centre was branding them as high on corruption, she said while speaking on a session on ‘Good Governance - focus on NE States' to a batch of Civil Services officers undergoing training at the institute.
“North-East students have the feeling that they are not being absorbed in jobs in India” and “feel a sense of alienation”.
Integration issue
“The issue of integrating the North-East with the rest of the country is important,” she felt. Ms Sangma highlighted the need for proper utilisation of allocations as funds remained unutilised because of shortage of manpower, education , connectivity and employment opportunities.
Youth is being weaned into insurgency. “Can you imagine that even Internet connectivity is poor,” she added.