74% dip in insurgency in Northeast, civilian deaths down by 89%: Minister

There has been a 74 per cent reduction in insurgency-related violence, 60 per cent reduction in attacks on security forces and 89 per cent decrease in civilian deaths in the Northeast, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference here, the Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) said about 8,000 youths, who were involved with insurgent groups, have surrendered and have joined the mainstream, welcoming a better future for themselves and their families.

"There has been a 74 per cent reduction in insurgency incidents, 60 per cent reduction in incidents of attacks on security forces and 89 per cent reduction in civilian deaths in the Northeast," he said.

Reddy said the development of the Northeast has been made a major priority by the central government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the region more than 50 times in last eight years and 74 ministers have also visited the region over 400 times.

"The Northeast was previously known for unrest, bombings, bandhs etc but in the last eight years, peace has been established under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi," he said.

Further, the minister said, peace agreements were signed with insurgent outfits like the National Liberation Front of Tripura in 2019, the groups belonging to the Bru community and Bodos in 2020 and with groups of the Karbi community in 2021.

He said the Assam-Meghalaya and Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border disputes have almost been resolved and with the restoration of peace, the Northeastern region has moved on the path of development.

On development issues, Reddy said since 2014, massive increase in the budgetary allocations has been witnessed to the region. Since 2014, more than Rs 4 lakh crore has been allocated for the region.

The actual expenditure in last four years under Ministry of DONER schemes was Rs 7,534.46 crore whereas, the fund available for expenditure in next four years till 2025-26 is Rs 19,482.20 crore, he added.