Centre needs to fund infrastructure development in Northeast: Tarun Gogoi

NEW DELHI: Centre has to provide special incentives and needs to increase public spending to create infrastructure, otherwise "its look east policy will not be successful", Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said.

"Unless Government of India goes in a very big way, its look east policy will not be successful," Gogoi said after a meeting of Chief Minister's Sub-Group on Skill Development at NITI Aayog.

Gogoi is also a member of the Committee on Skill Development which is expected to submit its final report within the next 15 days.

He further said, "I hope the government of India will give incentive to develop Northeast. Infact whatever incentive they have given.. now they have withdrawn. The special status also where they were given extra money. Today it has also withdrawn because now they have constituted another committee, let us wait and see."

Gogoi stressed on the need for providing special incentive and fund for creating infrastructure to attract private players to the Northeast part of the country.

He said that unless the Centre increases public spending in the Northeast and give special incentives for development of infrastructure, no private player will invest there.

"There is policy for industrial promotion giving special incentives. That also they are keeping in suspension...unless you provide incentives to establish infrastructure, nobody will go there," Gogoi said.

On skill development, he said that skill development alone cannot help, as there is need to create jobs to absorb the skilled workers.

"If you have skill but there is nobody to absorb you. Thus you have to create jobs also, otherwise there will be a mismatch. Upgrading skill will not help unless job is created. But for creation of jobs you need infrastructure and big industries," he said.