The ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) will soon set up camp offices of its secretariat in each of the eight North-Eastern states by rotation for three to four days every month. Jitendra Singh, Union minister of DoNER, today issued orders to this effect. This decision of the ministry comes close on the heels of another significant decision of the Centre to send eight Union ministers by rotation every fortnight to North East, so that one Union minister would be visiting one of the eight states in every fifteen days.
Singh said the concept behind this move was taken to "make the people of North-East realize that the ministry of DoNER, which was established for their benefit, has the capacity to reach out to them in their own state and district". He added: "this will send a reassuring message that the people of North-East do not need to travel to New Delhi for redressal of their grievances, but it is New Delhi which will, through the medium of DoNER, reach them at their destination.
As per the new order, the Union secretary of DoNER and other senior officers will be camping in each of the North-Eastern States by rotation for 3-4 days every month. "During this period, the officials in the Camp Secretariat of DoNER will not confine their activities only to the state capital, but would also tour various districts of the state, as may be required. They will also be assessing the progress of different ongoing projects funded by the DoNER and the North-Eastern Council (NEC)," an official press release stated.
Singh has also issued instructions that the timing and roster of the camp office at any given state should be intimated in advance to the ministers, MPs and MLAs of the respective state, so that everybody gets a fair opportunity to interact with visiting officials from the ministry of DoNER. In addition, he asked the DoNER officials to encourage the representatives of social organizations and civil society to meet them and offer their inputs from their perspective.
As a follow up to this order, secretary DoNER will be holding Camp Secretariat office along with other senior officers in the month of February in Arunachal Pradesh and will also be available for interaction with peoples' representatives and various sections of society at state capital Itanagar.
