SHILLONG, August 21: The Meghalaya minister for home and finance, AH Scott Lyngdoh, today urged the Centre to expeditiously open up the borders for trade between the neighbouring countries and the north-eastern region, stressing that "economic survival of the region depends on border trade." He was inaugurating a seminar on 'Role of rural banks in the next millennium' organised on the occasion of the fifth biennial conference of the North Eastern Regional Rural Bank Employees' Association (NERRBEA) here today. Wondering whether the Northeast economy was moving backward or forward, he minister regretted that despite decades of planned economic development, the region was still heavily dependant on the Union government for its survival. He feared that the region's economy would collapse without the present liberal central assistance which comprised 90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan. (Special correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 22, 1999)

NEW DELHI, August 25: The threat of a massive power crisis looms large over the Northeast with the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) threatening to suspend its operations in the region owing to non-payment of outstanding dues to the tune of Rs 180 crore. The PGCIL, which has set up the North Eastern Regional Transmission System (NERTS) at the request of the Union government, has now approached the Centre to compensate for its losses in the region. Its request for a grant of Rs 800 crore to make good its losses in the Northeast is also pending approval by the government. Painting a dismal picture as far as its financial dealings in the region is concerned, the chairman-cum-managing director of the corporation, RP Singh, told newspersons that they had no option but to think in term of suspending the services in the region if the state electricity boards did not clear their dues. He, however, declined to set any deadline, saying they were in touch with the Union government as well as the respective state governments. Assam was among the six defaulter states in the country from whom the PGCIL was yet to get Rs 1,000 crore. The others are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi. The Assam State Electricity Board's outstanding dues are around Rs 4 crore, 50 per cent of which was cleared recently after the PGCIL threatened to suspend its services, he said. (Staff correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 26, 1999)

DIBRUGARH, August 27: A part of the ancient Silk Route, the Stilwell Road, may be opened for civilians by 2005. That is the time when most trade of the globe would be opened up and liberalised, and the beneficiaries of the Stilwell Road are keen to have the roadblocks removed and pave the way for prosperity to unfurl in a hitherto landlocked hinterland. The four Governments in Beijing, New Delhi, Dhaka and Yangon appear enthusiastic from the outcome of an unofficial international conference that took place during the middle of this month at Kunming, the capital city of the south Chinese province of Yunan. Kunming is the city that is on the other end of the Stilwell Road, if one takes the road from the Indian end of Ledo. The distance between the two places is 1,725 kilometres and there is already talk here that Dibrugarh is the centrepoint between Kunming and Calcutta. If the promising trade route is opened up, manufacturers and service providers here would have the option of selling their products and services either towards the mainland of the country or towards the unexplored markets of Myanmar and southern China, and vice versa. Kunming, located in the higher altitudes, has a climate that is akin to that of Shillong. But there ends the similarity. In the Chinese city, people are busy adjusting themselves to the liberalised economy. The state-owned enterprises are being closed down and private enterprise is gaining currency. In the changed economic scenario, Kunming today has more than 250 star category hotels, of these about 24 are five star, which caters to the annual average of eight lakh international tourists. The tourism industry brings Yunan province 30 crore US dollars a year. To handle this traffic, the no-frills international airport at Kunming is an example of efficiency. However, till now, the city is not linked directly to any Indian city by air. One will have to go there via Bangkok or Singapore. With the lifting of trade barriers and the opening up of the Stilwell Road, and in case the proposed Trans Asian Railway (from Istanbul to Singapore via the Bogibeel Bridge near Dibrugarh) materialises, Assam in particular will have to get prepared for the resultant economic boom, feels a prominent economist here. He cited the example of the import of thousands of outsiders into the state by the Britishers to serve the tea gardens, and wanted the people to avert another such influx to the extent possible. He said that in the early 19^th century, the locals of the state were unwilling to serve as labourers in the tea plantations, a decision that the future generations of the state's ethnic population is now resenting. According to one member of the Indian delegation who attended the Kunming conference this month, the Chinese are bent on opening up the traditional trade routes, which now comprise of India's Northeast, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Southern China. The representatives from Myanmar are said to be keen on the opening up of the Stilwell Road, provided Yangon does not have to spend money on that. With the region's mindset going on the right track, Assam can look forward to better days, the Indian member felt. It all depends on how soon the thoughts are transformed into reality. (Ron Duarah; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 28, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 27: The Asom Bijuli Mazdoor Union has opposed the move to induct private sector agencies in matters of power generation and distribution in Assam. These measures have been recommended by the Hyderabad-based consultancy firm Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) as part of its recommendations for reforming and restructuring the State Power Sector. It also opposed the ASCI recommendation for setting up the Electricity Regulatory Commission. The ASCI, in its final report submitted to the state government and the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) in May last, had recommended segmentation of the ASEB into the Assam Power Corporation (APC) and various distribution companies. The APC will then purchase power from various generating agencies owned by independent power producers (IPP). (Staff reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 28, 1999)