Union Budget anchors Northeast at heart of India’s growth story: Sarbananda Sonowal

A CORRESPONDENT

DIBRUGARH: Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) Sarbananda Sonowal said that the Union Budget 2026–27 marked a decisive and historic step toward making the Northeast, particularly Assam, a powerhouse of India’s development journey under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It anchored Northeast and Assam at the heart of New India’s growth story, Sonowal remarked. 

Addressing a press conference on Monday here on Monday, Sarbananda Sonowal, who is also the Lok Sabha MP from Dibrugarh, said that the Budget reflected a calibrated shift to targeted planning, cooperative federalism, and infrastructure-led growth, ensuring prosperity for every region while strengthening India’s high-tech and manufacturing ambitions.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that the Northeast had received unprecedented attention in the Budget. The allocation for the Ministry for Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER) has increased to Rs 6,812 crore, more than three times the Rs 2,000 crore allocation in 2014. Sonowal noted that allocations for the Northeast had risen by 22 percent, from Rs 88,741 crore in the revised estimates of 2025–26 to Rs 1,08,335 crore in the budget estimates for 2026–27.

“Since 2014, Rs 7.3 lakh crore has been spent in the Northeast, averaging more than Rs 60,000 crore annually. In recent years, this has crossed Rs 1 lakh crore per year, reflecting the end of decades of neglect and the beginning of sustained engagement under the Modi Government,” Sonowal said.

On railways, he said that the region had received a record allocation of Rs 11,486 crore for infrastructure projects, nearly five times the annual allocation during the UPA era.

Dibrugarh MP Sarbananda Sonowal said that Assam stood to gain significantly from the Budget. The state will receive Rs 49,725 crore as its share of Union tax devolution in 2026–27, compared with Rs 44,494 crore last year and about Rs 11,500 crore in 2013–14. “This more than five-fold increase over 12 years has substantially strengthened Assam’s fiscal capacity,” Sonowal said.

Sonowal said that the expanded Rs 2 lakh crore special assistance to states for capital investment will accelerate major infrastructure projects, urban renewal, and logistics development in Assam, strengthening urban centres like Guwahati and improving transportation corridors across the region.

Calling it a landmark step for peace and reconciliation, Sonowal welcomed the Rs 500 crore package for the rehabilitation of former ULFA cadres and their families. Sonowal said that additional allocations for Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Adivasi communities, and Dimasa communities would address long-standing socio-economic challenges through investments in infrastructure, education, health care, and livelihoods.

Sarbananda Sonowal said that Rs 5,000 crore had been earmarked for developing Tier-II and Tier-III cities such as Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Silchar, Imphal, and Agartala, focusing on public transport, sanitation, digital governance, affordable housing, and smart infrastructure.

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