AIZAWL, July 1: The Northeast Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) has assured the Northeast states that it would not export power to the eastern region without first fulfilling the needs of the region, report agencies. The assurance came at the 48th board meeting of Northeast Regional Electricity Board (NEREB) that concluded at Aizawl on Thursday. The NEEPCO also admitted that it had failed to take NEREB into confidence before deciding to export surplus power. According to NEREB Chairman and Arunachal Pradesh Power Minister Lijum Ronya, a meeting between the Northeast states and NEEPCO proposed to be held at Guwahati in the second week of July would further discuss the issue. Addressing the media, Assam Power Minister HN Goswami lamented that while NEEPCO was exporting power to West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB) at Rs 1.60 per unit, inclusive of transmission tariff, it was selling the same to Northeast states for Rs 2.10 per unit. He said this issue would also be discussed at the Guwahati meet. While the Northeast had 1705 MW of installed power capacity, the power plants were able to produce a mere 900 MW due to faulty transmission system and old infrastructure. In a way the region is self-sufficient in power as it requires 1000 MW of power in peak hours, but due to substandard transmission lines, electricity fails to reach people, the NEREB Chairman said claiming that the Centre would soon provide Rs 200 crore to the region to improve sub-transmission system. Earlier, the NEREB directed the NEEPCO not to export power outside the region till the needs of the constituent states were met. Power generated in the Northeast could meet the requirements of the region but for the huge transmission losses, Ronya told reporters here on Thursday. "The need of the hour is to improve transmission system in the region and thereby reduce power loss," he said. He said the Centre had decided to subsidise interests in power generation-related loans from Rural Electricity Corporation, Power Finance Corporation and other financial institutions by about five per cent. Royna said the Centre had been approached to formulate uniform tariff in purchasing energy from Central sectors. (The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 2, 2000)

AGARTALA, July 1: The much awaited Agartala-Dhaka bus service will start soon after completion of formalities. This was disclosed by the Minister of Commerce and Industries Pabitra Kar at the secretariat on Thursday. The decision was taken at New Delhi on Thursday after the delegations of both India and Bangladesh agreed to study the prospects of the bus service. The Bangladeshi delegation was led by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Surface Transport, Alok Rawat. Accordingly, a high-level delegation comprising officials of Foreign Ministry and Surface Transport Ministry will arrive in Agartala on July 13 on a two-day visit to have a look at the available infrastructure for plying international bus services. The next meeting will be held at Dhaka after the study is made and an MoU will be signed before the service commences. "The road leading to Akhaura from TRTC bus terminus has already been made double-lane for the purpose and civic amenities will be upgraded soon before the commencement of the proposed bus service," Kar said. The proposal for starting Dhaka-Agartala bus service has been in place for the last three years and the prospects brightened after the success of the Calcutta-Dhaka and Delhi-Lahore bus services. It is learnt, both the governments are keen to start more such services in the region from Guwahati and Shillong if the proposed service becomes successful. Earlier on June 13, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told a visiting 30-member delegation of Assam Branch of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association led by Speaker Ganesh Kutum that her country is keen to start bus services with major cities in the Northeast. Recently, the number of buses in the Calcutta-Dhaka route has been increased owing to the regular rush of passengers. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 2, 2000)

NEW DELHI, July 2: government has ruled out any discount to oil PSUs, saying it will sell all the four standalone refineries to Indian Oil (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) at the current market price before taking up disinvestment in the oil sector, reports PTI. "The price of the four standalone refineries will be determined by the petroleum companies in consultation with Finance Ministry and a financial consultant... any disinvestment in IOC will be taken only after this exercise," Petroleum Minister Ram Naik told PTI yesterday. Naik said government would sell its stake in Cochin Refinery (CRL) and Numaligarh Refinery (NRL) to BPCL while Bongaigaon Refinery (BRPL) and Madras Refinery (MRL) stake would go to IOC over the next few months. He clarified that the cabinet would soon decide whether to merge the standalone refineries with the two marketing giants or structure these as subsidiaries of IOC and BPCL. As per a cabinet note circulated by Petroleum Ministry recently, it has been proposed to make BRPL and MRL as subsidiaries of IOC while merging CRL with BPCL. The proposal also includes selling the 19 per cent stake of IBP in Numaligarh refinery to BPCL, sources said. "This restructuring itself will go a long way in helping the government to achieve the disinvestment target of Rs 10,000 crore in the current financial year," Naik said. Petroleum Ministry is also working out various option for divesting its stake in IBP, including auctioning 2000 retail outlets of the standalone marketing company and has managed to get assurance from CCD that government equity in three national oil companies would not come below 51 per cent. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 3, 2000)

IMPHAL, July 7: The state Chief Minister Wahengbam Nipamacha Singh has assured that the France-funded road will be extended up to the famous and controversial Dzuko Valley area in Manipur. Replying to a query by former Deputy Chief Minister and MLA Kh Amutombi Singh on the fourth day of the state Assembly session on Friday, Nipamacha Singh expressed unhappiness over the misappropriation of government funds in regard to construction of the easily accessible road up to Dzuko Valley. Regarding the publication of a Dzuko Valley report in the Manorama Year Book 2000 (millennium edition), which claims Dzuko Valley belonging to Nagaland, the state Chief Minister expressed that his government had no knowledge about the publication. He, however, asserted the need to overlook the report published in the Manorama Year Book 2000 in the interest of the general public of the state. In a reply to another supplementary question, Nipamacha announced that as of now there is no exact boundary demarcation in between the Nagaland and Manipur governments over the Dzuko Valley. Once there is an accessible road to Dzuko Valley, there will not be any form of controversy between the two states, he observed, adding that there is also no report about the construction of a water supply plant at Dzuko Valley under the sponsorship of Nagaland government. He further added that the state Public Works Department has been engaged for the construction work of another accessible road from Mao (Manipur) to Dzuko Valley area. The Chief Minister while replying to another question by BJP MLA Kangujam Ranjit Singh, said that his government is ready to provide necessary ex-gratia-cum-government jobs to the bereaved families of Laishram Bijoykumar of Thangmeiband (Imphal), Yumlembam Sanamacha of Yairipok Angtha (Thoubal) and the six persons who were killed in Sugunu area in Thoubal district. It may be noted that both the Laishram Bijoykumar and Yumlembam Sanamacha have disappeared after they were arrested by the security personnel in 1995 and 1998. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 8, 2000)

JORHAT, July 8: As job prospects at the government level become bleaker by the day, that too in an atmosphere occasionally charged with blood and gore, a group of 12 prospective Upper Assam entrepreneurs have set out for Rajasthan in the hope of being imparted training on the art of making handmade paper out of ipomea carnea, an abundantly available water weed which has lately proved to be a scourge for farmers in and around Jorhat district. Selected from among a horde of applicants hailing from Jorhat, Sivasagar, Golaghat and Dibrugarh, the prospective entrepreneurs will undergo a three-week training beginning from July 11 on the technicalities involved in manufacture of handmade paper from the problem weed of yesteryears, popularly known as Kalmou, at the Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI) based at Sanganer in Jaipur. Talking to The Assam Tribune at his office chamber here today, the Upper Assam Commissioner Arun Kumar said the respective DICs had footed the trainees' to and fro travel expenses while also taking care of their course fee which comes to around Rs 2,500 per head. Food and lodging during the period will, however, have to be borne by the trainees themselves. Kumar has in the meantime notified several DICs of Upper Assam about a project profile on making handmade paper from ipomea prepared by KNHPI, while seeking their cooperation in making the initiative a success. Though studies are simultaneously on at the KNHPI on optimisation of profits accruing from the project, Kumar exuded confidence that once the industry gets started at the local level, it would have the potential to solve the unemployment problem to a great extent, while at the same time gainfully utilising the fibrous stems of Kalmou. If things work out on expected times, the abundance of Kalmou locally may ultimately prove to be a boon rather than a bane, the Upper Assam Commissioner felt. A brainchild of the bureaucrat, Kumar had only on April 26 last organised a workshop in the city on papermaking from ipomea, which generated much enthusiasm among the public. Holding out promise in the otherwise bleak employment scenario of this troubletorn state, his idea of setting up of a cottage industry took wings at the said workshop which discussed the feasibility aspect of the project. The idea of making paper from ipomea first struck Kumar during one of his visits to the KNHPI in Rajasthan. "I witnessed paper being made from several types of raw material in the Institute, and back in Jorhat I saw this ipomea plant which is fibrous and could be used for making the same," he said. Thereafter, he sent 20 kg of ipomea to the Institute during October last year. As KNHPI replied in the affirmative and asked me to send a larger consignment of the plant, which I did in February this year.... and here we are", he exclaimed. Kumar assured that interested entrepreneurs would be provided loans under the schemes of Khadi and Village Industry Commission if they wished to start a business venture on such lines. As the paper thus produced is suitable for making cards, carry bags, chart paper and packing material, it is bound to generate handsome returns both in the domestic as well as international market, he felt. (Staff Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 9, 2000)

AGARTALA, July 10: Tripura Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury today presented a tax-free Rs 2373.85 crore deficit Budget in the state Assembly, reports UNI. The Budget shows a deficit of Rs 134.20 crore besides an opening balance of Rs 89.50 crore. Presenting the Budget, Chowdhury told newsmen that the main thrust was given on the development sector. Recognising that the state has been facing severe infrastructure gap, the state government has decided to set up an Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF) with a corpus fund of Rs 10 crore to finance priority infrastructure projects, the Finance Minister told the House in his Budget speech. He said to meet various liabilities the state government has decided to constitute a guarantee redemption fund with an initial corpus of Rs 10 core. As per figures of the Accountant General, Tripura, the amount of guarantee given by the state government to its various institutions was Rs 63.82 crore as on March 31, 1999. As the institutions which have taken loan against these guarantees are not in a position to service their loans, liability of liquidating the outstanding dues in this regard has fallen on the shoulder of the state government. (UNI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 11, 2000)

GUWAHATI, July 11: The 75 Mega Watt (MW) Doyang Hydro Electric Project of Northeastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) is ready for commercial generation. Sources in the NEEPCO informed that all the three units having capacity of 25 MW each, of Doyang Hydro electric project have been synchronised. Test generation is being carried out in all the three units and the commercial production is expected to begin very soon. It is learnt that the Unit-III was synchronised on June 29 last while the unit-II was synchronised on July 5 and unit-I on July 8 last. During the test generation power is being evacuated to Doyang-Dimapur grid. After the 250 MW Kopili Hydro Electric Project, Doyang will be the second hydro electric project to be commissioned by the NEEPCO. Doyang Hydro Project on Doyang river is located in Wokha district of Nagaland about 105 kilometre from Kohima towards Northeast. The project has utilised discharge from Doyang river, a sub-tributary of the river Brahmaputra. The Northeastern Council (NEC) has sponsored the Doyang power project which has been executed by the NEEPCO. Doyang Hydro Electric Project with installed capacity of 25x3 MW, is capable of generating 227 MU on 90 per cent dependable year and 360 MU on average year. Evacuation of power from Doyang project will be done by Power Grid Corporation to all the North-eastern states. Nagaland, being the home state of Doyang project, will be benefited with 12 per cent free power from the project. As per the original work schedule, the first unit of Doyang project was slated to be commissioned in September, 1998 while the rest two units were to be completed within 1998. But fury of mother nature delayed the completion of the project by about two years. On August 17, 1998 the Unit-I, which was ready to be commissioned as per the original schedule, was submerged along with the powers house by flood water of Doyang caused by massive landslides on the hill. The landslides also weakened the river. The mishap sent the work on the project haywire. Subsequently, a revised target was set for June, 2000 for completion of the hydro electric project. It is commendable that the NEEPCO has completed the project as per the revised schedule. Till date the NEEPCO generates 42.20 per cent of total hydro electricity generated in the Northeastern region while its share in the generation of thermal power in the region is 42.12 per cent. Now, as soon as commercial generation starts in Doyang Hydro Electric project it will enhance the NEEPCO's share in generation of hydro power in the region. The other hydro electric projects of the NEEPCO which are under execution are 405 MW Ranganadi project in Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh and 60 MW Turial project in Aizawl district of Mizoram. Ranganadi project is expected to be commissioned by September 2001 while the Turial project is expected to be completed within 2006. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 12, 2000)

NEW DELHI, July 12: The information and broadcasting ministry is coming up a Rs 600-crore package to boost the coverage of Doordarshan and All India Radio in the insurgency-hit Northeastern states. Of the Rs 600 crore, Rs 400 crore will be allocated to Doordarshan and Rs 200 crore to All India Radio. The proposal has been agreed to in principle, according to sources in the ministry, though no time-frame has been set yet for its implementation. The decision to develop the package, the sources said, was taken by the information and broadcasting minister, Arun Jaitley, after his trip to the Northeastern states early last month. The proposal includes a 24-hour Doordarshan channel dedicated to the Northeast, on the lines of the Kashmiri channel, Kashir, which was launched in Srinagar last month. The purpose of starting Kashir was to counter the anti-India propaganda on Pakistan TV, which is easily accessible in the Valley. In the Northeast, at present, Doordarshan has only three to four hours of programming besides the prime time telecast in the evening. The money being allocated to improve the services of Doordarshan and All India Radio there, an amount totalling up to Rs 600 crore, is much more than the amount allocated to Jammu and Kashmir last year immediately after the Kargil war: Rs 430 crore. This is besides the Rs 45 crore that Doordarshan and All India Radio have been given for the Northeastern states in the present financial year. Work is already on in these seven states and also Sikkim to expand the coverage of Doordarshan channels. Fifteen transmitters are being installed to expand the coverage of DD1 and five transmitters -including four high-powered ones - for DD2. (Bishwanath Ghosh; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 13, 2000)

NEW DELHI, July 11: The 43rd meeting of the Northeastern Council (NEC), the major funding and planning agency for the far-flung region, to be held here on July 14 will focus among other things improvement of communication for promotion of international trade in the zone, reports PTI. The meeting to be inaugurated by the Union Home Minister LK Advani will also consider taking up new roads, schemes for improvement of information technology, projects of economic importance, promotion of trade and commerce in the region and creation of tourism sector in the NEC secretariat, an official release said here on Monday. The meeting is being held here after a gap of five years. The Northeastern Council, set up in 1971, consists of Governors and Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. The Governor of Assam Lt Gen (Retd) S K Sinha is the present chairman of the Council. Funds released by the Council during the first three year of the Ninth Five-year Plan, that is from 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 stood at Rs 319.16 crore, Rs 368.55 crore and Rs 412.76 crore respectively. The outlay for the current year 2000-2001 is Rs 450 crore, the release added. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 14, 2000)

NEW DELHI, July 14: The 43rd meeting of the Northeastern Council (NEC) today recommended to the Centre to change the funding pattern of the non-lapsable Central pool of funds converting it to cent per cent grant as against the current pattern of 90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan. The move came even as the states pressurised the NEC to change the pattern of devolution of Council's divisible pool to the states. The Council will take a fresh look at the distribution of funds to the states and would try to build up a consensus at the next meeting scheduled to be held next month, announced the NEC Chairman and Assam Governor, Lt General (retd) S K Sinha briefing newsmen later. The day-long meeting held after a gap of five years for the first time in New Delhi saw the Chief Ministers of the region demanding immediate restructuring of the 23-year-old body. The Chief Ministers also called for a fresh look at the role of the NEC. In all six Governors, seven Chief Ministers besides the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, KC Pant and host of top central government officials pooled from various Central Ministries having a stake in developmental activities in the region attended the meeting, making it one of the most-well-attended meetings of the NEC. But the Chief Ministers and Governors had to face some embarrassing moments when both the Union Home Minister, LK Advani and the Union Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha called for proper use of the Central funds hinting at the misuse and rampant corruption prevailing in the Northeastern states. Security and development are interdependent and to have both, probity and integrity in governance is required, Advani said and asked the Chief Ministers to ensure that whatever funds that are provided are used for the intended purposes. If the Union Home Minister was modest, the Union Finance Minister was unsparing in his address, mentioning that only two states in the Northeast have properly used the Central funds disbursed for developmental works. Meanwhile, the conversion of the non-lapsable pool of Central funds to hundred per cent grants found favours with all the states. The financial powers of the NEC has been hiked from Rs 5 crore to Rs. 50 crore, even as it was decided that the Council would henceforth meet twice every year. First meeting would be convened in the beginning of the year to earmark funds and chalk out projects, and then again the next meeting would be held in September-October period to review the progress of the works, Lt General Sinha said. Replying to a question, Lt General Sinha said that the meeting also discussed the security scenario prevailing in the North-East. Referring to Assam, he said the three-pronged strategy of military action, psychological pressure and economic development has worked. Claiming that the Unified Command system was highly successful in tackling militancy in Assam, he said that during the last three years, 700 militants were killed and over 2000 weapons seized. The pressure is on the militants and they are in disarray. And this is evident from the fact that some 923 militants have surrendered in Assam this year alone. Addressing the 43rd meeting of the NEC, here this morning, Chief Minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, made an attempt to touch on all important issues ranging from floods development of infrastructure to health care needs, though the focus of attention was on the financial affairs of his state, and clearance of the developmental schemes. He sponsored three resolution at the meeting which he claimed was of common interest to the Northeastern states. He proposed that the funding pattern of the non-lapsable pool of Central Funds be changes from 90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan to cent per cent grant, as he argued if the concerned ministries could spend the stipulated 10 per cent of their budgetary allocation for the region, the states should get the benefit without the burden of loan. He further suggested that the state's contribution in all important Centrally sponsored schemes should be brought down to 10 per cent in case of all the special category states. His third proposal was denotification of the industrialised areas to cover the entire Northeast and not the selected notified areas. (Kalyan Barooah; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 15, 2000)

NEW DELHI, July 14: Sikkim will be included as the eighth member of the North-Eastern Council and necessary legislation will be introduced for this purpose, Union home minister LK Advani said while inaugurating the 43rd meeting of the council here on Friday. Advani said that the Centre is considering reorganisation of the council which should work as an institution for change in the region. Stating that development, peace and security are "inter-linked," he emphasised on the need for probity and integrity in governance. He added problems of development and terrorism should be tackled primarily by the states. He asked the North-Eastern Council to take advantage of the on-going information-technology revolution, keeping in mind the higher level of education in the Northeast region. The finance minister, Yashwant Sinha, announced that funds for development of the region will not be a problem and asked the council to pay greater attention to utilisation of funds and timely completion of projects. Raising three issues of common interest to all the Northeast states, Assam chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta in his address said, "Funds released from the non-lapsable central pool should be released as 100 per cent grant to the states." He added that the ratio of Central share to state share in funding centrally-sponsored schemes, particularly rural development programmes, should be made 90 against 10 for the special category states so that they can fully avail the Central allocations. Mahanta added the special fiscal incentives under the Northeast Industrial Policy should be made available throughout the Northeast, removing the notified area restrictions.Meanwhile, the Northeast chief ministers forum will organise a regional peace convention at Guwahati in last week of August. (Correspondent; The Hindustan Times; New Delhi; July 15, 2000)