Assam: Important decisions taken on state cabinet meeting

Several key decisions were made at the Assam Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma announced them on Twitter.

CM wrote in his tweet, "At the weekly #Assamcabinet, we took several important decisions related to building a new bridge over the Brahmaputra, hiking State subsidy for PMAY houses, recruitment of teachers, new medical colleges, boosting river transport and upgrading ITIs & polytechnics, among others."

Also read: https://www.insidene.com/assam-govt-will-spend-47-crores/

Decisions on parity in Bridge on Brahmaputra, subsidy on PMAY housing , Assam Complex in Maharashtra, New Medical Colleges, Relief to HPC employees, Teacher recruitment, Upgrading Polytechnics & ITIS, boost to river transport were announced in the official release.

 Key decisions are as follow:

Bridge on Brahmaputra

• 'Assam Bridge Project - II' approved - 4-lane extradosed PSC bridge over the Brahmaputra connecting Palasbari & Sualkuchi to be constructed
• Approximate cost: 3,197 crore
• Length: 4.08 km
• Will shorten distance between LGBI Airport and lower Assam districts by 25 km and ensure seamless connectivity to Sualkuchi & Amingaon from the airport.

PMAY housing subsidy

• Enhancement of State subsidy for houses being constructed under PMAY HFA (Urban) from 350,000 to 60,000 in respect of all incomplete houses, which will help beneficiaries in meeting any additional expenditure
• Approval to release of 30,000 for early completion of houses under Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC) component of PMAY HFA (Urban) as 3rd instalment to those beneficiaries who have reached roof level, which will help complete thousands of incomplete houses
• This will benefit 1,16,380 beneficiaries with additional spending of approximately 116.3 cr, making Assam the first state to undertake such an innovative step

Boost to river transport

• Contract for construction of Terminal & Riverine Infrastructure at Guwahati Gateway Ghat approved
• Total contract value: 289.45 crore

-  Will integrate connectivity & safe communication in ferry ghats of Guwahati & North Guwahati along with boosting tourism potential of the Brahmaputra

• Assam Inland Waterways Company Ltd (AIWCL), a fully-owned State Govt company to be formed
• Company's mandate to be

- Establish, maintain and operate cost-effective water transportation services within Assam, including river cruises

- Develop & maintain all-weather ports, jetties, passenger terminals, etc

Upgrading Polytechnics & ITIS

• 34 Polytechnics and 43 Government ITIS to be upgraded as Centres of Excellence in association with Tata Technologies Limited (TTL)
• Will provide upskilling opportunities to skilled workers of Assam working in various industries like tea processing, food processing, handicrafts & textiles, etc
• Proposed project cost: ₹ 2,390 crore

Teacher recruitment

• Recruitment of Graduate & Post Graduate teachers in Govt and Provincialised High & Higher Secondary Schools approved
• 3,564 posts for Graduate Teachers 
• 1,304 posts for Post Graduate Teachers

Relief to HPC employees

• Approval to release of ₹308.75 cr as part of the ₹ 700-cr relief package to employees of Nagaon Paper Mill and Cachar Paper Mill of Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd
• This will provide further support to the employees of the paper mills and is in line with the commitment of the State Govt

New Medical Colleges

• Administrative approval to construction of new Medical Colleges & Hospitals at Bongaigaon, Dhemaji, Golaghat and Morigaon
• The hospitals will be constructed under NIDA and implemented by Assam Infrastructure Financing Authority (AIFA)
• Total project cost: ₹ 2,000 cr

Assam Complex in Maharashtra

• Assam Complex to be established at Tiware village, Raigarh district of Maharashtra for promoting State's rich cultural heritage
• Committee formed to negotiate price of land; will submit report within 20 days.