india

Updated: Jan 18, 2019 09:02 IST

The northeastern states need to be more dependent on their own resources in future and these states, including Tripura, should attract private capital, said 15th Finance Commission chairman Nanda Kishore Singh on Thursday.

He further added that sole dependency on the public outlay would extend the state’s debt and fiscal deficit profile.

“The Government of India has prepared a policy to make the states dependent on their own resources that need to be continued in future. Tripura has the second highest density of population after Assam. The Tripura government has a plan for development of the human resources that will help to utilise the human resources talent,” Singh told the media on Thursday after their two-day meeting with all the stakeholders including government, political delegations and other autonomous bodies.

The state government submitted a memorandum to the fifteen member delegation of the Finance Commission seeking for hike of devolution to set up infrastructures in sectors of health, power,education, IT, tourism etc.

The memorandum mainly emphasised on connecting Tripura with Chittagong sea port in Bangladesh, increasing tourism through improvement of road connectivity ,launching of pro-indigenous developmental projects, hike of devolution to manage forest cover etc.

“We support the vision of the new state government to make a model state. They gave us a memorandum. We are aware of the challenges of the state and we will give a sympathetic view to this state’s need and economy,” he said.

Singh added that Tripura has the potential to become a healthcare hub and also can attract patients from Bangladesh,but termed chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb’s dream to make the state an IT hub as ‘imaginative plan’.

The Finance Commission would soon visit other northeastern states like Meghalaya,Mizoram and Sikkim.