Gangtok: The Centre has allocated more than Rs 25,500 crore for development projects in the North Eastern states under various schemes of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER), Rajya Sabha was informed on August 21.
Minister of State for DoNER Sukanta Majumdar shared the figures while replying to a question raised by Sikkim’s Rajya Sabha MP Dorjee Tshering Lepcha.
Among the states, Assam has received the largest share with 417 projects sanctioned under the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources at a cost of Rs 3875.97 crore, along with 49 projects under the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme worth Rs 2673.39 crore. Arunachal Pradesh followed with 194 NLCPR projects worth Rs 2465.72 crore and 44 NESIDS projects at Rs 1402.37 crore. Nagaland was sanctioned 137 NLCPR projects worth Rs 1805.40 crore and 31 NESIDS projects amounting to Rs 1535.81 crore. Manipur secured 177 NLCPR projects valued at Rs 1857.13 crore, 30 NESIDS projects of Rs 1014.37 crore, and was the only state to benefit under the Hill Area Development Programme with 41 projects worth Rs 98.29 crore. Meghalaya had 159 NLCPR projects costing Rs 1447.24 crore and 28 NESIDS projects worth Rs 972.94 crore, while Mizoram also received 159 NLCPR projects worth Rs 1394.20 crore and 28 NESIDS projects valued at Rs 722.92 crore. Sikkim was allotted 122 NLCPR projects worth Rs 1409.95 crore and 16 NESIDS projects of Rs 551.12 crore. Tripura received 106 NLCPR projects worth Rs 1881.31 crore and 18 NESIDS projects sanctioned at Rs 672.50 crore.
When looking at the release of funds over the last five years, Assam again emerged as the top recipient. The state received Rs 299.72 crore in 2021-22 and continued to get significant yearly allocations such as Rs 178.87 crore in 2022-23, Rs 172.47 crore in 2023-24, and Rs 153.81 crore in 2025-26. Arunachal Pradesh was the next major beneficiary with Rs 232.86 crore released in 2021-22 and Rs 115.35 crore in 2024-25. Meghalaya recorded Rs 209.09 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 112.22 crore in 2024-25. Nagaland saw its highest allocation in 2021-22 at Rs 104.53 crore, followed by Rs 90.85 crore in 2020-21. Mizoram received Rs 107.21 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 77.82 crore in 2021-22.
Smaller states like Sikkim and Tripura received comparatively lower amounts. Sikkim’s annual release dropped from Rs 62.61 crore in 2020-21 to just Rs 5 crore in 2025-26, while Tripura received Rs 82.65 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 59.61 crore in 2024-25. Manipur’s highest allocation was Rs 93.97 crore in 2021-22 but in some years, the release remained very low such as Rs 6.39 crore in 2022-23.
The government clarified that the NESIDS scheme, first approved in 2017-18, was restructured in 2022-23 into two parts for roads and other infrastructure, and it now subsumes earlier liabilities under NLCPR and HADP. The Hill Area Development Programme, meanwhile, has been implemented only in Tamenglong district of Manipur on a pilot basis.
This comparative data highlights Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya as the biggest gainers of central funds in recent years, while Sikkim and Tripura remained at the lower end of allocations.
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