Agartala, May 13: North Eastern Council (NEC) Chairman and the Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister Mani Shankar Aiyyar has said the government is planning to start a dedicated regional airline for the eight northeastern States to boost interstate connectivity.

"We are giving a serious thought at having an exclusive regional airline for northeastern area of our country and are trying to bring the private sector airlines," Aiyyar told reporters after inaugurating the 56th plenary session of North Eastern Council at Agartala.

Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura are the states, which continue to suffer from poor road and air connectivity.

Aiyyar said, “ Most of the Chief Ministers protested the recommendation of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission to abolish DoNER Ministry and suggested it's clubbing with the North East Council with technical expertise for more effective functioning for the overall growth of the North-East through integrated regional planning and better inter-state coordination.”

He stressed that after carefully taking all relevant factors into account, he preferred to equip DoNER with a technical wing.

Nagaland Chief Miniser Neiphiu Rio also suggested that the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and the North Eastern Council (NEC) should be clubbed for fast development of the region. (ANI)