Assam’s growth roadmap

Whatever the political critics of the BJP-led dispensation may say, the fact remains that Assam has witnessed unprecedented growth in all sectors in the past ten years. This has become possible for several reasons, among which a visionary and committed leadership stands out as the most important. While Assam had suffered immensely in the post-Bardoloi era because of a lack of good governance and leadership, the people of the state have been fortunate to vote for a party and an alliance in 2016 which had its goals perfectly set and the roadmap perfectly charted. While a combination of good leadership and commitment brought about drastic changes in the approach to governance, development has become “the mantra” for Assam in the past decade. Fortunately for Assam, the government at the centre too happens to belong to the same party and alliance, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described as a “double engine”. As everyone agrees, Assam has also recorded a decade where there have been the least agitations demanding something. There was a time when the people of Assam had to resort to agitation for everything – from setting up a refinery to process the crude oil produced in the state to construction of a bridge across the Brahmaputra. With the leadership at the centre understanding the basic problems and needs of Assam, the leadership of the state is one which can place the issues of the state in a convincing manner before Delhi. It must also be placed on record that with all the states of the Northeastern region coming under one political umbrella, things have been moving in a faster and smoother manner in comparison to the previous decades. With equitable growth and sustainable development being the focus areas, it is very encouraging to find Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma getting things in place soon after taking the oath as Chief Minister of the state for the second successive term. On Saturday, he held crucial discussions with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman – a known friend and well-wisher of Assam – with the prime objective of charting a new growth roadmap for the state. As reported, discussions between Dr Sarma and Sitharaman centred round Assam’s economic growth, infrastructure expansion, and investment potential. It is on record for everybody to see that the state government has, in the past decade, been actively pursuing large-scale infrastructure projects, industrial investments and welfare initiatives – all intended at strengthening the state’s economy and connectivity. Under global warming adversely affecting the state’s agricultural sector – including the tea industry – Sitharaman must keep this aspect in mind while contributing towards Assam’s growth roadmap, which has to be also in consonance with the Prime Minister’s Viksit Bharat @2047, the target set for making India one among the first four economies of the world.