HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Jan 19: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday urged Centre to formulate new industarial policy for Northeast, said an official statement.
While speaking at the 71st Plenary of the North Eastern Council (NEC), Sarma said that the current phase of unprecedented positive developments on multiple fronts, including economic, in the state can largely be attributed to the climate of general peace that has been prevalent for the past couple of years.
Related Posts:
The chief minister also claimed that the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for the next financial year would register a significant growth over the current level.
He also referred to the measures the state government has taken to improve Assam’s standing in the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) rankings.
“These and the other measures have led to creation of a conducive investment climate in the state which has resulted in many big-ticket investments in the past few years. I urge the Centre to bring out a new industrial policy for the Northeast so that the region can attract more private investors,” the statement quoted him as saying.
Sarma also expressed his gratitude towards the current administration at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking relentless measures for the socioeconomic growth and development of the Northeastern region.
“The Northeastern region has embarked on a transformative journey owing to the continued focus it has received from the current government at the Centre,” he added.
Sarma cited the example of the Multidimensional Poverty Index 2024 recently published by the NITI Aayog that shows Assam’s multidimensional poverty registering a sharp decline from 36.97 per cent in 2013-14 to 14.47 per cent in 2022-23.
“The decline in poverty rate pulled nearly 80 lakh people in the State out of poverty in the last 9 years,” Sarma said.
He said that owing to the government’s focus on fulfilling the genuine hopes and aspirations of the various aggrieved communities, peace has returned to Assam after many decades, recording zero casualties amongst security personnel and civilians last year.
“The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is currently in force in only four districts, the Centre would explore the possibility of repealing it entirely from the state. Resolution of border disputes between Assam and its neighbours are going ahead in the right direction,” he avowed.
He further added that there has been marked improvement in the crime scenario in the state, especially with regard to “crime against women” where a significant reduction in cases has been observed.
Later, the chief minister also spoke about the various infrastructure development projects, particularly on the road infrastructure front, currently under various stages of development in the state.
“The state government has also put special emphasis on the development of school infrastructure in the State, he stated, adding that a huge chunk of monetary resources allotted under North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) and PM-DevINE scheme are being spent on improvement of secondary school infrastructure,” he added.
Sarma also informed about the measures being undertaken by Assam to attain self-sufficiency (atmanirbharta) in many fronts such as fish, egg and milk production.
Union minister of home affairs who is also the president of NESAC, DoNER minister G Kishan Reddy, NESAC vice-president and ISRO chairman S Somnath were present on the occasion.
