NESAC technology to monitor progress of 700 NEC projects

Umiam (Meghalaya), Sep 5 (PTI) Around 700 governmentprojects funded by the North Eastern Council, which are facingdelay and cost over-run in eight states of the north eastregion, will soon get a near-to-real time monitoring using asatellite system developed by the North Eastern SpaceApplication Centre (NESAC). The system which was first initiated in 2011 as a pilotproject, got the North Eastern Council (NEC) nod in 2012 foran amount of Rs 144 lakh covering 36 districts across allstates in the north east, officials said. "We are expecting that using the technology that is beingdeveloped by NESAC, we will be able to monitor the progress ofover 700 projects funded by the NEC in the region," NECPlanning Advisor C H Kharshiing told PTI on the sidelines of16th foundation day celebration at the NESAC premises here. He said at the moment, NEC was monitoring the projectsusing the conventional means, and he was hopeful thatmonitoring of the progress of each of the projects be madeavailable in the pictorial form. In fact the NEC had released about Rs 50 lakh of theRs 144 lakh meant for the North Eastern District ResourcesPlan (NEDRP) which is aimed at strengthening governance policythrough geospatial inputs. The NEDRP was started in 2011 in Meghalaya as a pilotproject and in 2012, it got the NEC nod to develop geospatialdata for 36 districts of all eight north eastern states, NESACdirector P L N Raju said. He said it was one of the most successful programmesdeveloped by the Centre and headed by programme directorDr D Chutia. Apart from project monitoring, the programme alsoprovides geospatial inputs important for preparation ofDetailed Project Report (DPR), Master plan document andplanning of various developmental activities in the districtscovered, Raju added. PTI JOP MMSRY