Hill Area Development Programme

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh has launched, “Hill Area Development Programme” (HADP) for Northeast in Imphal.

Need

The hilly areas of Manipur, Tripura and Assam have been found to possess a distinct geo-physical entity and hence are lagging in socio-economic development. Due to distinct topography, a wide gap exists between the hill and valley districts of the states in terms of infrastructure, quality of roads, health and education etc. The Hill Development Programme aims to address these drawbacks with a serious research and deliberation.

It has been found that out of 80 districts of northeast, 3 hilly districts (Tamenglong, Chandel and Churachandpur) have ranked lowest in the Composite District Infrastructure Index. All these 3 districts belong to Manipur.

What is Composite District Infrastructure Index?

It is an index prepared by Ministry of DoNER to aid in better targeting of schemes and projects within the North Eastern region (NER) for reducing intra-regional disparity. The index is prepared based on 7 indicators, namely, transport facilities, energy, water supply, education, health facilities, communication infrastructure and banking facilities. It acts as a benchmark in formulating and implementing various policies by the ministry.

Features

The mission will be implemented on a pilot basis in the hilly districts of Manipur. Under this mission, the government will adopt a two-fold approach. The first approach is to ensure equitable development of every area, tribe and every section in the North Eastern Region. The second approach is to bring the eight North Eastern Region States at par with the more developed states of India.