GUWAHATI, Sept 19: The 16th Finance Commission will be on a four-day tour to Assam from September 25, during which it will meet chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his cabinet colleagues along with senior officials to discuss monetary issues.
According to a detailed “minute to minute” programme accessed by PTI, the 16th Finance Commission (XVI-FC) will also visit Kaziranga National Park on September 28 to avail jeep or elephant safari despite the park being closed for general tourists.
The central panel will arrive in Guwahati on September 25 and offer prayers at Kamakhya temple, followed by a visit to the State Cancer Institute at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.
The next day, the XVI-FC will have a series of meetings, starting with the CM and his cabinet colleagues at the secretariat complex in the presence of the chief secretary and other senior officials.
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In the afternoon, the commission will meet various political parties, rural and urban local bodies, different councils and representatives of industries.
On its third day of stay in Assam, the XVI-FC will go to Kaziranga National Park. While en route, it will visit Dimoria block, Khetri village panchayat and Tata’s upcoming semiconductor plant site at Jagiroad.
At 6 am on September 28, the team is scheduled to have a jeep safari or elephant safari before departing for Shillong.
The Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) is slated to reopen for tourists on October 1 after the monsoon break.
When asked how the XVI-FC will have a safari during the closure period of the park, its Field Director Sonali Ghosh told PTI that they will be coming to KNPTR to interact with stakeholders to familiarise themselves with the challenges faced by them.
“They will visit one anti-poaching camp inside the park. We have requested the government to remove the safari part from the itinerary. We hope a new schedule without safari will be issued soon,” she claimed.
The Arvind Panagariya-led XVI-FC will make its recommendations available by October 31, 2025, covering an award period of five years commencing April 1, 2026. (PTI)
