The Assam Government has opened the Act East Policy Department to ensure the implementation of Act East Policy in a time-bound manner. The Act East Policy Department will facilitate an environment for investment and rapid industrialization in the state.
The Geographical Location of the North Eastern Region (NER) stands itself as the most favorable location to focus on the implementation of India’s Look East Policy which is stated to be India’s vision. The entire North Eastern Region is the gateway to South East Asia. Therefore, the development of the communication infrastructure of the northeastern region is very important so that it can be linked to the neighboring South East Asian countries of Bangladesh Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Bhutan & China.
Major infrastructure initiative needed to connect the NE Region to the South East Asian neighbors. Ministry of Road Transport & Highways in recent time has initiated/undertaken many major National Highway development projects in the North Eastern Region. Early completion of these projects will be much helpful towards materialization of the Look East Policy.
The major initiatives taken up in the Highway Sector of the State are outlined below:
Development of NH 153 (Stillwell Road):
Re-opening of the Stillwell Road to link NER to Kunming, the capital City of Yunan Province of China, through Myanmar will greatly boost economy and trade activities from the region to those southeast Asian countries. NH-153 forms part of this famous Stillwell Road in NER.(from Lekhapani to Jairampur- 23.00 km) & improvement of the stretch to 2 lanes with Paved shoulder (10m Carriageway) has already been completed under SARDP-NE. The government of India may consider the development and commissioning of this road from NER to China with the necessary collaboration with Myanmar. Work on re-alignment of NH 37 & NH 38 for proper road link between Dibrugarh and Lekhapani has also been under implementation. Also, 4-Laning of NH-37 from Dibrugarh to Numaligarh has been taken up by NHIDCL.
Development of ASEAN Highway:
The road connection to southeast Asian countries is also available along with the ASEAN Highway network that can be accessed from the existing NH-39 & NH-36 of Assam through DIMAPUR –KOHIMA-IMPHAL to reach Myanmar at the border town of Moreh. This route assumes a lot of significance as it has been envisaged to connect Thailand, Laos, Vietnam Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia along with the same highway network. This will definitely change the prevailing status of the economic development of the country. Of the above, 71 km of NH-36 (from km 91/0 to 162/0) has already been developed to two lanes with paved shoulders under SARDP-NE (Phase-A). The route has already been declared as Asian Highway No.1.
Connectivity to Bhutan:
The NH 152 from Assam has a direct link to the Royal Kingdom of Bhutan. The NH 152 (38 km) has been developed as a two-lane highway with a Paved shoulder under SARDP-NE (Phase-A). Therefore, there is ample scope for establishing good road connectivity from Bhutan and beyond. Recently two new National Highways viz NH No.127(C) & NH No.127(D) has been declared which will connect East-West Corridor with Bhutan.
Connectivity to Bangladesh through NH-51, NH-40, NH-151, NH-44:
NER has 3 (three) distinct national highways connecting the capital city of Bangladesh i.e. Dhaka. The routes are:
The development of the above routes will be very beneficial for International Trade and Commerce, and will also create new opportunities.
Connectivity with the Republic of China through Arunachal Pradesh:
Connectivity of NER with the rest of the country:
The following points also need urgent attention so that development initiatives related to LOOK EAST policy have a better impact on all layers of society.
Industrial Growth of North Eastern Region:
The Government of India’s Look East Policy is to focus on Industrial development of the North Eastern Region as most of the South East Asian Countries are closely linked to the North Eastern Region. In this regard some routes of internal connectivity which are presently either underdeveloped or Missing links are to be developed:
The following missing links need immediate attention
It is urgently required to connect all the above major missing links in a framed manner within the next ten years so that the State can have an integrated Highway network. Industrial Growth of the North Eastern Region will be effective only on the completion of the above missing links.
Conclusion:
Construction of the East-West Corridor in Assam will be completed by NHAI in 2017. Thus thorough 4-lane connectivity from Srirampur (Assam Bengal Border) to Silchar covering a distance of 670 km will be available for uninterrupted Highway traffic which can be properly utilized for connectivity to Myanmar through Moreh shortly. The intervening 60 km NH-53 is also under development to 2-lane with paved shoulder (10m carriageway) under SARDP-NE Phase-A partly under PWD and partly under BRO. For augmenting better economic growth, the standard of living, per capita income, etc. of the people of the North Eastern Region the route for connectivity to Myanmar within Assam is given below.
Route –I
S.N. | NH Number | From | To | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 31(C), 31, 37, 36, 54 | Srirampur | Silchar | 670 km |
2 | 53 | Silchar | Jiribam | 60 km |
3 | 39 | Jiribam | Moreh | 319 km |
Route –II
S.N. | NH No. | From | To | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 31(C), 31, 37 | Srirampur | Nagaon | 382 km |
2 | 36 | Nagaon | Dabaka | 38 km |
3 | 36 | Dabaka | Dimapur | 123 km |
4 | 39 | Dimapur | Moreh | 317 km |
Route –III
S.N. | NH No. | From | To | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 31(C), 31, 37 | Srirampur | Nagaon | 382 km |
2 | 37 | Nagaon | Numaligarh | 130 km |
3 | 39 | Numaligarh | Dimapur | 107 km |
4 | 39 | Dimapur | Moreh | 317 km |
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