Prime-Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to continue to work for the overall development and empowerment of North-Eastern States.

Modi was in Mizoram to inaugurate the 60 MW Tuirial Power Plant, an ambitious project which was launched almost two decades back in 1998 by the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The project, which met with some resistance from the locals and faced hiccups, was later implemented and completed.  Modi inaugurated the Rs.1302 crore power project yesterday.

“By inaugurating the project, we have got an opportunity to take part in a significant celebration in the history of Mizoram.  Mizoram thus becomes the third State in the north-eastern region after Sikkim and Tripura to produce excess power than what is required for its own needs. The project would witness production of 251 million units of power each year, thus fulfilling the State’s complete electricity/power needs.

“Furthermore, this project is also a reflection of the Centre’s determination to complete work at a fast pace in all the on-going projects in the State. This project, for which the foundation stone was laid by the Vajpayee Government, happens to be the first major project to have been implemented in the State. Besides, we have also set up a separate Ministry for the development of north-eastern States.

“The Centre is to soon implement the ‘Bharatmala’ project linking all the roads in the north-eastern States with the national highways in this region. Mizoram, which is the gate-way of South-East Asia, would continue to receive Central assistance in various forms,” Modi concluded.