The North Eastern Council (NEC) was established by the North Eastern Council Act, 1971. Subsequent to the amendment of NEC Act in 2002, the Council comprises which of the following members? [2024]

The North Eastern Council (NEC) was established by the North Eastern Council Act, 1971. Subsequent to the amendment of NEC Act in 2002, the Council comprises which of the following members?

After the enactment of the North Eastern Council (Amendment) Act, 2002, Section 3 of the 1971 Act was substituted to redefine the Council’s composition. Under the amended provisions, the Council comprises:
- The Governors of the concerned States
- The Chief Ministers of those States
- Three members nominated by the President
The Union Home Minister was designated as the ex officio Chairman of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in 2018, following a Union Cabinet decision. However, he is not included as a member under Section 3 of the Act.

North Eastern Council (NEC):
- It is the nodal agency of MoDNER overseeing the economic and social development of the NER.
- It was established by the North Eastern Council Act, 1971 initially as an apex-level advisory Body, for securing balanced and coordinated development and facilitating effective coordination amongst the seven States of the North Eastern Region. Subsequent to the amendment of the NEC Act in December 2002, Sikkim was added as the 8th Member State, and the NEC was mandated to function as a statutory Regional Planning Body for the North Eastern Region.
- The headquarters of the council is situated in Shillong.
Functions: The council discusses any matter in which some or all of the States represented in the Council have a common interest and advises the Central and State governments concerned, particularly concerning:
- Any matter of common interest in economic and social planning.
- Any matter concerning inter-State Transport and Communications.
- Any matter relating to Power or Flood-control projects of common interest.

It consists of eight states — Assam, AP, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and Sikkim.
It accounts for 7.9% of the total geographical area of the country.
It shares its boundary with four countries viz, China, Myanmar, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
The western side of the North-East is connected to the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent by a narrow land corridor, sometimes referred to as the Siliguri Corridor or “Chicken’s Neck“.

It is responsible for the matters relating to the planning, execution and monitoring of development schemes and projects in the North-Eastern Region.
This is the only Ministry with territorial jurisdiction.