HM Amit Shah chairs 72nd Plenary meeting of NEC at Agartala

The Union Home Minister and Minister of  Cooperation, Amit Shah, chaired the 72nd plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) at Agartala, Tripura, on 21 December 2024.

The last plenary session of the North Eastern Council was hosted by Agartala in 2008.

Under the provision of the North Eastern Council Act 1971, as amended in 2002, the Council meeting is held at least twice a year.

A pre-plenary technical session was held on 20 December, where the central ministries presented their development agendas for the entire North Eastern region. 

These regional developmental agendas were discussed in the plenary session chaired by Amit Shah.

Who attended the 72nd plenary session of the North Eastern Council?

The 72nd plenary session of the North Eastern Council was attended by Amit Shah, Union Minister for Development of North East Region (DoNER) Jyotiraditya Scindhia, Union Minister of State for DoNEAR Sukanta Majumder, governors and chief ministers of all eight northeastern states.

Chief Ministers of the North-Eastern State present on the occasion were Manik Saha of Tripura; Himanta Biswa Sarma of Assam; Pema Khandu of Arunachal Pradesh; N. Biren Singh of Manipur: Lalduhoma of Mizoram: Neiphiu Rio of Nagaland and Prem Singh Tamang of Sikkim.

What is the North Eastern Council?

The North Eastern Council was set up under the North East Council Act 1971 provisions.

It was inaugurated on 7th November 1972  by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in Shillong, Meghalaya.

Initially, it consisted of seven states of the North East- Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.

In 2002, the North East Council Act was amended, and Sikkim was made the eighth member of the Council.

Composition of the North Eastern Council 

The North Eastern Council includes the Governors and Chief Ministers of the eight states of the North East.

The President has the power to nominate three members to the Council.

The President has the power to nominate the Chairman of the Council, and the President has nominated the Union Home Minister as the Chairman of the Council.

Function of the North Eastern Council 

The North Eastern Council is an advisory body whose recommendations are not binding on the central or state governments.

The Council is a regional planning body for the entire northeastern region.

It formulates regional development plans in which at least two states of the region are beneficiaries.

It also reviews the regional plans and recommends measures for better coordination amongst the state governments for better implementation.