“Smart Border Project” ::::: Home Minister Amit Shah to visit border areas along Bangladesh-Tripura ::: Also will chair North Eastern Council (NEC) meet at Shillong

Home Minister Amit Shah to visit border areas along Bangladesh-Tripura

NEC meeting to focus on regional cooperation, says Meghalaya CM

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Wednesday said that the upcoming annual meeting of the North Eastern Council (NEC) on June 4 will focus on strengthening regional cooperation and reviewing the implementation of recommendations made by various sector-specific task forces constituted by the Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).

"Leaving for Northeast for a two-day visit. Will visit the Lankamura Border Outpost on the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura and interact with our brave BSF personnel," he tweeted before leaving for Shillong from New Delhi. 

He will also chair meetings of the North Eastern Council (NEC) and NESAC to be attended by all chief ministers and Governors in the region among others.

Shah will address the plenary session of the NEC meeting on Thursday, June 4.

Sangma said discussions during the meeting would centre around reports prepared by task forces that were constituted to examine key sectors critical to the development of the region. 

He informed that different Northeastern states have been assigned leadership roles in specific sectors such as tourism, youth affairs, trade and related areas.

CM Sangma said Meghalaya would place special emphasis on promoting the Northeast as a unified tourism destination instead of individual states marketing themselves separately. 

“We want to project the Northeast as one destination so that tourists visiting the region can experience multiple states and destinations seamlessly,” he said.

According to CM Sangma, the meeting is also expected to deliberate on broader developmental and policy matters concerning the region, with both the Union Home Minister and the DoNER Minister likely to raise additional issues during discussions. 

The Chief Minister further informed that the Union Health Minister J P Nadda is scheduled to visit Meghalaya on June 5. 

He also said that the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to visit Shillong within the next 10 days.

The NEC meeting assumes significance as the Centre continues to push for greater regional integration, connectivity and coordinated development initiatives across the Northeastern states.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Tripura on June 4-5 to assess the preparedness of the Border Security Force (BSF) and other agencies in dealing with a range of challenges along the India-Bangladesh border.

During his stay in Tripura, the Home Minister will hold a high-level meeting with officials of the BSF and other security agencies to review issues related to the India-Bangladesh border. 

He further informed that prior to the meeting, the Union Home Minister will visit Lankamura Border Outpost on the India-Bangladesh border. 

He will personally assess the prevailing situation. 

During his visit to the Bangladesh frontier, Shah is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for certain infrastructure projects, participate in a tree plantation drive, and attend a Sainik Sammelan. 

The Home Minister is also slated to lay the foundation stone and attend the Bhumi Pujan ceremony for a hotel project that will be developed jointly by the Tripura government and a private organisation. 

The Tripura government, the BSF, and the West Tripura district administration are engaged in extensive preparations for the Home Minister’s two-day visit to the state. 

Tripura shares an 856-km-long international border with Bangladesh and is surrounded on three sides by the neighbouring country, remains highly sensitive and vulnerable to issues such as illegal migration, cross-border smuggling, illicit trade, and other trans-border crimes. 

A senior BSF official said that vigilance and domination along the International Border have been significantly intensified since unrest erupted in Bangladesh during June-July 2024, particularly following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5, 2024. 

Meanwhile, while addressing the BSF Investiture Ceremony and Rustamji Memorial Lecture in New Delhi last month, Shah announced that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government would establish an impregnable border security grid over the next year under the “Smart Border Project”, incorporating drones, radars, advanced surveillance cameras, and other cutting-edge technologies.  

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