Staff Reporter
Guwahati: In connection with the proposals for four projects under the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) scheme for Assam, the central government has sanctioned an amount of Rs. 1402.50 crore. Of the total amount sanctioned, an amount of Rs. 155.82 crore has been released so far.
This was revealed by Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The Union Minister said this while replying to a question on whether the Ministry of DoNER has received project proposals from the Assam government under PM-DevINE for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024, the details of the projects, and the quantum of funds sanctioned and released against each project for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024.
According to the information submitted by the Union Minister, the four projects for Assam are: (i) Transformation of 20 schools as Centres of Excellence in the Kamrup District; (ii) Development of Maa Kamakhya Access Corridor at Guwahati; (iii) Construction of Medical College (100 admissions) at Sivasagar District, Assam; (iv) Upgradation/widening of existing 2-lane road to 4-lane road connecting LGB International Airport—from VIP junction to Dharapur Junction, including (i) 4-lane grade-separated junction at Dharapur, (ii) 2-lane access road from SOS junction to existing terminal building, and (iii) 2-lane temporary exit from existing terminal building.
For the first project on ‘Transformation of 20 schools as Centres of Excellence in the Kamrup District,’ an amount of Rs.132.86 crore has been sanctioned, but funds amounting to only Rs. 31.96 have been released. For the second project on ‘Development of Maa Kamakhya Access Corridor at Guwahati,’ an amount of Rs. 498.37 crore has been sanctioned, but funds are yet to be released. In connection with the third project on the construction of a medical college in Sivasagar district, an amount of Rs. 499.82 crore has been sanctioned, but funds of only Rs. 56 crore have been released. For the fourth project on ‘Upgradation/widening of existing 2-lane road to 4-lane road connecting LGB International Airport,’ with a total project cost of Rs. 358.47 crore, the Centre has sanctioned Rs. 271.45 crore, but only Rs. 67.86 has been released, according to the statement of the Minister.
PM-DevINE is a central sector scheme with 100% central funding, which was announced in the Union Budget 2022-23 with an initial outlay of Rs. 1,500 crore. The Union Cabinet on October 12, 2022, approved the scheme with a total outlay of Rs. 6,600 crore for the period from FY 2022-23 to FY 2025-2026.
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