GUWAHATI, May 6: The Assam Cabinet has expressed its gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for approving a greenfield high-speed corridor from Mawlyngkhung in Meghalaya to Panchgram in Assam at a cost of Rs 22,864 crore, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday.
Of the corridor’s total length of 166.80 km, Meghalaya will have 144.80 km, while 22 km will lie in Assam’s Cachar district.
This corridor will bring down travel time from Guwahati to Silchar, headquarters of Cachar, to just five hours, Sarma said at a press conference here.
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Currently, the time needed to reach Silchar from Guwahati by road is around 12 hours.
This corridor will improve connectivity, logistics and regional development in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of Act East and Atmanirbhat Bharat, he said.
The state cabinet also resolved to put on record its gratitude to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for their support to the project.
The CM chaired a six-hour cabinet meeting till late on Monday, and briefed the media about the decisions on Tuesday.
The cabinet has approved customised incentives to 12 companies that had signed MoUs during the Advantage Assam 2.0 business summit in February, he said.
These companies will together invest Rs 7,730 crore and generate employment opportunities for 16,466 people, the CM said.
The Council of Ministers also approved the Assam Thermal Power Generation Promotion Policy 2025 to ensure energy self-sufficiency for the state by 2035.
‘This decision will promote private sector participation in thermal power generation and develop 2,000MW thermal power by 2030 and 5,00 MW by 2035’, Sarma said.
Assam Power Development Corporation Limited (APDCL) will be the nodal agency to drive this policy which will have a dedicated single window clearance cell, he added.
In a bid to further strengthen the power sector in the state, the Cabinet approved a targeted subsidy of Rs 300 crore and tariff subsidy of Rs 200 crore to APDCL to provide tariff respite to consumers and also to avoid hike in retail tariff during the financial year 2025-26.
The Cabinet also approved release of Rs 244 crore for acquisition of land for upgradation and renovation of the 220 KV Grid substation of Assam Electricity Grid Corporation Limited (AEGCL) at Sarusajai in Guwahati.
The Cabinet also approved the involvement of ‘Jal Mitras’ in a rebranded role where they will be involved in monitoring and verification, raising awareness about waste segregation, sanitation activities and others.
In the context of water management, particularly within the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), a Jal Mitra is a local person, often a skilled individual or technician, who is trained to operate and maintain the water supply infrastructure within a village.
A structured performance-based incentive system will be introduced for Jal Mitras alongside a monthly honorarium of Rs 1000, with incentives ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 2000 based on key performance indicators, Sarma said.
The Cabinet also approved the setting up of Lalal Town water supply scheme in Hailakandi district to provide uninterrupted water supply to every household there.
The 362 Public Facilitation Centres (PFC) have become redundant with the Assam Right To Public Services (ARTPS) Act becoming effective in the state and, as such, the Cabinet approved a one-time grant of Rs 50,000 to 746 PFC operators along with existing computer hardware to enable them to become village-level entrepreneurs.
The cabinet has also approved the Amendment of the Assam Sericulture Technical (Gazetted) Service Rules, 2013 to provide 100 per cent direct recruitment of extension officers from candidates having minimum qualification of B.Sc in Sericulture from any recognised institutes.
The Cabinet also approved a convergence model between the Water Resources Department and Panchayat and Rural Development department for construction of new embankments on the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers and their tributaries, the Chief Minister said.
The cabinet has approved implementation of priority consideration for 347 Operation Black Board (OBB) teachers of Nalbari district under the Chief Minister Atmanirbhar Asom Abhijan (CMAAA) 2.0 as a one-time special provision, Sarma added. (PTI)
