AGARTALA, August 7-The seven Northeast states have jointly urged the underground militant outfits of the region not to hinder developmental works. A resolution to this effect was passed at the 46th meeting of the North Eastern Regional Electricity Board (NEREB) here yesterday. Power ministers from Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and deputy chief minister of Mizoram, also holding the power portfolio, attended the meeting. The NEREB chairman and Tripura power minister Badal Chowdhury told newsmen here today that all the seven power ministers expressed concern over insurgency having adverse impact on developmental activities, specially in the power sector in the region. The Nagaland minister and former NEREB chairman, K Therie, said foreign and domestic investors wanted security guarantees to invest in the power sector in the region. Most of the extremist outfits were against development, he said. (United News of India; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 9, 1999)

AGARTALA, August 7: The Centre has earmarked Rs 200 crore to augment sub-transmission and the distribution network in the seven Northeast states. The North Eastern Regional Electricity Board (NEREB chairman and Tripura power minister Badal Chowdhury and other state power ministers today said they would jointly take up outstanding issues of power sector of the region with the Union power minister in November. The region's resources were yet to be properly utilised, though the region could generate 60,000 MW hydel power and meet with the northeastern, eastern and central India's power requirement, they said adding that the power projects, now under construction, must be completed within the revised schedule. According to the revised schedule, the 75 MW Doyang hydro-electric power project and the 405 MW Ranganadi hydro-electric power project in Arunachal Pradesh would be on stream by March next year and December 2001 respectively. Inaugurating the 46th NEREB meeting here yesterday, the Tripura Chief Minister, Manik Sarkar, said the per capita consumption of power, which was an index of development, was only 107 units in the region as compared to 338 units for the country as a whole. The low per capita consumption was due to inadequate industrial growth in all the states, except Assam, Sarkar said. Senior officials, chairman-cum-managing directors and chief engineers of the seven States, North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and Power Grid Corporation attended the meeting. (United News of India; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 8, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 7: The Assam government, the Planning Commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the preparation of a state human development report (HDR) for Assam. The MoU was signed by the state Chief Secretary PK Bora, Planning Commission advisor Dr Rohini Nayar and senior Deputy Resident of UNDP in India, Richard Conroy, at a workshop on human development organised by the state government. The report will provide a realistic assessment of the current status of human development, highlight areas of progress and deprivation and suggest possible strategies for the future. (Press Trust of India; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 8, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 8: The product of a protracted popular movement, the Brahmaputra Board, which once gave the people of the Northeast and particularly, Assam, solace that the perennial problems of flood and erosion would be taken care of in a conclusive and speedy manner, has now allegedly started betraying the hopes of the people of the region as a whole. According to allegations, the 17-year-old board has now started handing over the task of implementing major projects, arduously prepared by its technocrats over the years, to other organisations to fulfil the careerist aspirations of some of the top brass of the board. On the other hand, efforts are also on to transform the board into a milch-cow for the fortune seekers of the so-called "mainland" at the cost of the board and the people of the country as well. These have allegedly set in motion a process of demoralisation within the board and days are not far when the board will turn to be a dead duck if timely measures are not taken to spruce it up, say critics. The board recently gave up its claims over the implementation of the Tipaimukh, Subansiri and Dihang multi-purpose projects, which will have together an installed generation capacity of 15,000 MW. The National Hydel Power Corporation (NHPC) and the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) snatched away the projects with much ease as the Brahmaputra Board, which prepared the detailed project reports for the projects, was made to sit tamely allegedly because of the alleged post-retirement career moves of some of its high officials. A coterie of some fortuneseekers from outside the state, recently discovered a "splendid" trick to deprive one senior technocrat of the state - a state secretary, from becoming the chairman of the board. Though the state government officer qualified in all matters and was selected to be the only fit man to become the chairman of the board, the coterie raised the issue of his present salary as the secretary of the state government, arguing that he would be drawing an disproportionate amount as monthly salary if appointed chairman of the board. The person concerned is now drawing around Rs 17,000 per month as salary, while the salary of the Brahmaputra Board chairman is around Rs 45,000 per month. (Staff reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 9, 1999)

AIZAWL, August 9: There has been gross misutilisation of funds in the Mizoram election department while conducting the 1998 parliamentary polls, a CAG report has said. It said an excess expenditure of Rs 21.02 lakh was incurred by the department due to mistakes in electoral rolls while copying from computerised master rolls and in the printing of extra copies. Undue financial benefit of Rs 2.24 lakh was also given to a local computer firm which drew the full sanctioned amount of Rs 3.20 lakh but was unable to complete the voters' list till August 1998. The report said none of the electronic voting machines were used in any polls since they were procured in 1990 at a cost of Rs 37.12 lakh due to non-receipt of further instruction from the Election Commission. (The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 10, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 9: Eminent economist and Planning Commission member, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, has said there is limited room for the Union government to be more generous towards the development of the Northeast as all the states were getting Central assistance as 90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan. He said the states of the region must enhance the capability of their administration to implement centrally-sponsored schemes. He, however, pointed out that lack of implementation capacity was a problem confronted by almost all states in the country. Delivering the keynote address on the topic, "Constraints in economic development of Northeast," on the occasion of the 4th Incorporation Day of the NEDFi, Ahluwalia said geographical isolation borne out of inadequate transport connectivity was a unique hurdle faced by the Northeast in the path of development. (Staff reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 10, 1999)

NEW DELHI, August 10: The Delhi High Court today asked the Centre to place on record the report of Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) on alleged misuse of proceeds of state lottery by Nagaland. A division bench comprising Justice Devinder Gupta and Justice SK Aggarwal directed Union government counsel Lalan Chaudhary to place the report before it by October 12, the next date of hearing. The court was hearing a public interest litigation by Movement for National Awareness (MNA), a nongovernmental organisation, seeking a CBI probe into the alleged diversion of state lottery proceeds by the state's authorised lottery agent in Delhi to underground insurgent groups in the State. (Press Trust of India; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 11, 1999)