 "Haven't asked the Centre for funds to build roads: Manik Sarkar")
Manik Sarkar, the media-shy chief minister of Tripura and veteran Communist leader, interacted recently with the media and Business Standard's Avishek Rakshit in Kolkata. Excerpts from the conversation
Poor connectivity in the Northeast, including Tripura, has often been held responsible for impeding the progress of the Seven Sisters. What's the update?
Connectivity is very important for undertaking development, particularly in a landlocked state like Tripura. The unscientific Partition of 1947 resulted in the state having only one chicken-neck connectivity via Assam. However, things have now started to move in the right direction.
When I was a college student, we raised the demand that people be connected by trains, but that was denied right from the time of Jawaharlal Nehru. Ultimately, after a series of struggles, the government of India gave in to our demand and established a rail link up to Agartala. However, I consider railroad a mere toy-train. Work is on full swing to convert it into broad gauge and according to Railway Board estimates, this will be completed by March, but I would like to add a month or two to that deadline. The Board has further said that by mid-2018, it would be able to link other parts of the state, which are not connected by rail currently.
Regarding air connectivity, the Agartala airport will go though a major upgrade that will turn it into a world-class airport. Every day 15 to 17 flights operate from that airport, flying to major cities in India. Seventy-five acres have been given for the upgrade and we'll invite tenders soon so that work can start by March.
We had also asked the Centre to turn the Agartala airport into an international airport so that we have connectivity with Dhaka, Bangkok and other foreign destinations. At this moment, that doesn't seem to be happening.
How important is Bangladesh for you and why?
Connectivity with Bangladesh is very important - it will help us get a big market. Being a landlocked state, we want to have connectivity to Chittagong port in Bangladesh. Earlier, we had proposed the Centre to get us linkage with Cox's Bazar (for high-speed internet connectivity) in Bangladesh. Work on this is on and it will be commissioned in January.
Importantly, this will result in Tripura becoming the "Third Gateway of India" after Mumbai and Chennai. The gateway will help the entire north-east region to link with other countries (via the internet).
The Union government has been talking about the "Act East Policy", a stage higher than the earlier "Look East Policy". I, however, have no idea what that means. In the past too, the "Look East Policy" was not properly explained to us.
Nevertheless, to fully exploit possibilities in South-East Asia that will benefit the country, development of infrastructure in the Northeast is important. Of this, the most important is connectivity.
To an extent, Tripura can take pride in being a power-surplus state. However, since you can't consume the entire power produced, are you thinking of exports or sharing it with others?
In a span of 10 to 15 years, we have turned Tripura into a power-surplus state, with 90 per cent of the 8,000 habitations having access to electricity. The rest, too, will have access in a year and a half at the most. Our present peak demand is between 270 and 274 Mw, which leaves the state with surplus power. We will supply 100 Mw of power to Bangladesh. All requisite arrangements have been made and this will begin in a month. The move will further foster the relationship between India and Bangladesh.
On national grid connectivity, the Centre needs to carry out the power evacuation project from Tripura; the National Thermal Power Corporation has been involved in this project. I think in eight to 10 months, we'll be in a position to transmit the surplus power out of Tripura.
There is some problem with the gas supply at the Palatana project (ONGC Tripura Power Company Ltd) because of which two units are not working properly, but I hope things will come back to order gradually. Nipco India has also undertaken a 104 Mw power project besides our own production.
What about the proposed ONGC-Chambal Fertlisers project?
At this moment, Chambal Fertilisers is not showing much interest in it. Three months back, we had appointed a senior special advisor (a former ONGC official) to explore other avenues and not to limit the project to urea.
We have gas reserves, which are unutilised now, and we are in talks with several public sector undertakings as well as private companies to mine them. This will take some time to materialise. It will take shape in the future.
Industry seems keen on single-window clearances. Have you done the same as several other states in India in this regard?
Single-window clearance is just a phrase. Our political as well as administrative executives are all easily accessible.
In a small state like Tripura, land may become an issue. What is your stand on land acquisition?
Tripura is one of the tiniest Indian states, hence, land is very limited. We have identified specific areas where an investor can buy land directly from the state government. But if one decides to buy land other than what we have, we cannot mediate in a deal between the landowner and the investor. In such a case, we will provide the investor with clean and clear land records from the revenue department. Thereafter, the investor can directly bargain the price with the respective landowner. But under no circumstances will the state government mediate or negotiate in the deal.
Insurgency has been a bane of the Northeast and is considered a sensitive subject. Even Tripura was not spared. How did you combat it and what is the situation now?
I won't say insurgency was combated - it was tackled. It had ideological, political and developmental aspects and we took a holistic approach. To address it, we need to empower the people so that they develop confidence in the government. If this is not done, people will not voice their support and confidence for the government without which the state cannot advance or prosper.
The people in our state associated with insurgency had their camps in Bangladesh. But the present Bangladesh government is not harbouring them, instead it is taking measures according to its capacity. This is helping us a lot. At present, there are 17 to 19 insurgent camps in Bangladesh and we have shared their details with the Indian government, which in turn has intimated Bangladesh. We are also asking people to be aware of the situation and to stay alert.
Poor connectivity in the Northeast, including Tripura, has often been held responsible for impeding the progress of the Seven Sisters. What's the update?
Connectivity is very important for undertaking development, particularly in a landlocked state like Tripura. The unscientific Partition of 1947 resulted in the state having only one chicken-neck connectivity via Assam. However, things have now started to move in the right direction.
More From This Section
By way of road connectivity, there was only one national highway (NH-44) which did not match the quality of other national highways in the country. The government of India has now agreed to convert it into a two-lane highway and eventually, to upgrade it to a four-lane one. Also, we have asked the Centre to develop an alternative highway as I see no reason why we should have only one national highway. In our state we have 8,000 habitations, which are all connected by road. The entire expenditure has been borne by the state government; we have not asked the Centre for any help.
When I was a college student, we raised the demand that people be connected by trains, but that was denied right from the time of Jawaharlal Nehru. Ultimately, after a series of struggles, the government of India gave in to our demand and established a rail link up to Agartala. However, I consider railroad a mere toy-train. Work is on full swing to convert it into broad gauge and according to Railway Board estimates, this will be completed by March, but I would like to add a month or two to that deadline. The Board has further said that by mid-2018, it would be able to link other parts of the state, which are not connected by rail currently.
Regarding air connectivity, the Agartala airport will go though a major upgrade that will turn it into a world-class airport. Every day 15 to 17 flights operate from that airport, flying to major cities in India. Seventy-five acres have been given for the upgrade and we'll invite tenders soon so that work can start by March.
We had also asked the Centre to turn the Agartala airport into an international airport so that we have connectivity with Dhaka, Bangkok and other foreign destinations. At this moment, that doesn't seem to be happening.
How important is Bangladesh for you and why?
Connectivity with Bangladesh is very important - it will help us get a big market. Being a landlocked state, we want to have connectivity to Chittagong port in Bangladesh. Earlier, we had proposed the Centre to get us linkage with Cox's Bazar (for high-speed internet connectivity) in Bangladesh. Work on this is on and it will be commissioned in January.
Importantly, this will result in Tripura becoming the "Third Gateway of India" after Mumbai and Chennai. The gateway will help the entire north-east region to link with other countries (via the internet).
The Union government has been talking about the "Act East Policy", a stage higher than the earlier "Look East Policy". I, however, have no idea what that means. In the past too, the "Look East Policy" was not properly explained to us.
Nevertheless, to fully exploit possibilities in South-East Asia that will benefit the country, development of infrastructure in the Northeast is important. Of this, the most important is connectivity.
To an extent, Tripura can take pride in being a power-surplus state. However, since you can't consume the entire power produced, are you thinking of exports or sharing it with others?
In a span of 10 to 15 years, we have turned Tripura into a power-surplus state, with 90 per cent of the 8,000 habitations having access to electricity. The rest, too, will have access in a year and a half at the most. Our present peak demand is between 270 and 274 Mw, which leaves the state with surplus power. We will supply 100 Mw of power to Bangladesh. All requisite arrangements have been made and this will begin in a month. The move will further foster the relationship between India and Bangladesh.
On national grid connectivity, the Centre needs to carry out the power evacuation project from Tripura; the National Thermal Power Corporation has been involved in this project. I think in eight to 10 months, we'll be in a position to transmit the surplus power out of Tripura.
There is some problem with the gas supply at the Palatana project (ONGC Tripura Power Company Ltd) because of which two units are not working properly, but I hope things will come back to order gradually. Nipco India has also undertaken a 104 Mw power project besides our own production.
What about the proposed ONGC-Chambal Fertlisers project?
At this moment, Chambal Fertilisers is not showing much interest in it. Three months back, we had appointed a senior special advisor (a former ONGC official) to explore other avenues and not to limit the project to urea.
We have gas reserves, which are unutilised now, and we are in talks with several public sector undertakings as well as private companies to mine them. This will take some time to materialise. It will take shape in the future.
Industry seems keen on single-window clearances. Have you done the same as several other states in India in this regard?
Single-window clearance is just a phrase. Our political as well as administrative executives are all easily accessible.
In a small state like Tripura, land may become an issue. What is your stand on land acquisition?
Tripura is one of the tiniest Indian states, hence, land is very limited. We have identified specific areas where an investor can buy land directly from the state government. But if one decides to buy land other than what we have, we cannot mediate in a deal between the landowner and the investor. In such a case, we will provide the investor with clean and clear land records from the revenue department. Thereafter, the investor can directly bargain the price with the respective landowner. But under no circumstances will the state government mediate or negotiate in the deal.
Insurgency has been a bane of the Northeast and is considered a sensitive subject. Even Tripura was not spared. How did you combat it and what is the situation now?
I won't say insurgency was combated - it was tackled. It had ideological, political and developmental aspects and we took a holistic approach. To address it, we need to empower the people so that they develop confidence in the government. If this is not done, people will not voice their support and confidence for the government without which the state cannot advance or prosper.
The people in our state associated with insurgency had their camps in Bangladesh. But the present Bangladesh government is not harbouring them, instead it is taking measures according to its capacity. This is helping us a lot. At present, there are 17 to 19 insurgent camps in Bangladesh and we have shared their details with the Indian government, which in turn has intimated Bangladesh. We are also asking people to be aware of the situation and to stay alert.