Assam Cabinet Clears Rs 2,100 Crore for Guwahati Satellite City, Rs 450 Crore for BTC and Major Welfare Schemes

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The state cabinet took several decisions, including subsidies for learning foreign languages, approval of the amount for land acquisition for satellite city, the release of funds for the BTC, approval of the land-lease agreement for Tata Hotels, issuance of NCL certificates for six communities included in the state OBC list, etc., today.

Briefing the media, Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "The cabinet approved Rs 2,100 crore in the first phase for the acquisition of land for Guwahati Satellite City. The project requires approximately Rs 4,000 crore for land acquisition."

The Cabinet approved the land-lease agreement between the AIDC and Indian Hotel Corporation Ltd (IHCL) for the setting up of a five-star hotel, Taj Gateway, at Jagiroad near the semiconductor plant.

The Chief Minister said that the state has OBC communities that have been facing problems due to the non-issuance of NCL (Non-creamy layer) certificates. The Cabinet today approved the issuance of NCL certificates for these six communities.

The Cabinet decided to offer a subsidy in the form of a scholarship amounting to Rs 1.50 lakh for students undergoing foreign languages and specified skill courses under the Chief Minister's Foreign Language Initiative for Global Human Talent (CM-FLIGHT) Scheme. The payment will be made in four phases - Rs 30,000, Rs 30,000, Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000. The scheme will start from September this year. Already 150 students have started studying foreign language courses.

The Cabinet decided to revive the CM's Jibon Prerona, under which graduates not enrolling in any PG courses used to get Rs 2,500 per month for one year. The Cabinet approved Rs 118 crore for this scheme, which was stalled after the payment for February and March this year.

The cabinet today released Rs 450 crore of the Rs 900 crore allocated in the state budget for the BTC.

In line with the exemption given to the Tea Tribes, the Cabinet has exempted the issuance of AADHAAR cards for Morans and Mattacks until March 31, 2027, for 18-year+ applicants.  However, the AADHAAR card for 18+ applicants is banned for the rest of the communities.

The Cabinet gave relief to small tea growers, whose annual income is below Rs 10 lakh. Such tea growers need not pay agriculture income tax.

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