Assam: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma Recalls PM’s Contribution to NRL

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma was present today as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the world's first 2nd generation Bio-ethanol Plant and laid foundation of Polypropylene Plant involving the project cost of Rs. 12,231 crore at Numaligarh in Golaghat district.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Dr. Sarma said, "Today marks a golden day in Assam. In the morning, the Prime Minister has laid the foundation stone for projects worth Rs. 6,300 crore in Darrang, and later he inaugurated the Assam Bio-Ethanol Project of worth Rs. 5000 crore and laid the foundation stone of the Polypropylene Project worth Rs. 7,231 crore at Numaligarh Refinery".

Calling the Numaligarh Refinery a symbol of Assam's pride, the Chief Minister recalled that in 1999 former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee dedicated this refinery with an annual capacity of 3 million metric tons to serve the nation. He said that though there had been discussions to expand the refinery, the lack of crude oil in Assam had made it impossible. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided that if crude oil was required for the expansion of Numaligarh Refinery, it would be imported from outside if necessary, to keep the refinery active.

Fulfilling that promise, crude oil was brought from Paradip in Odisha through a pipeline built at a cost of Rs. 26,000 crore, and the Prime Minister gave new life to the Numaligarh Refinery. The Chief Minister said that its refining capacity has now expanded from 3 million metric tons annually to 9 million metric tons. He remarked that it was possible only because of the Prime Minister's initiative to ensure the supply of crude oil from Paradip through a dedicated pipeline.

Describing bamboo as Assam's rich resource, Chief Minister Dr. Sarma said that the people of the state so far used bamboo for the household purposes. With the help of the Prime Minister, bamboo has been made an agricultural commodity from forest resource. By converting bamboo into ethanol, the Prime Minister has changed the lives of 50,000 bamboo farmers in Assam, the Chief Minister added.

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