Assam is no longer a dependent but contributory state, says CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated in the Assam Assembly today that the state is no longer a dependent state but a contributory one. Assam’s contribution to the GDP of the country now stands at 2%.

The CM said this while participating in a debate on the budget in the House. He said that earlier the state was dependent on the Centre for various matters, including the payment of salaries to state employees, but now the requirement for salaries, amounting to Rs 2,400 crore monthly, is being met with the state’s own resources.

He also stated that Assam is in a transforming stage. In 2022–23, the state GDP was Rs 4.93 lakh, which has increased to Rs 5.7 lakh. The target for 2024–25 is Rs 6.43 lakh, he said, and if the trend continues, Assam will be a state with a Rs 10 lakh crore economy. In 2014–15, the budget expenditure was Rs 42,000 crore, which has increased to Rs 1.22 lakh crore in 2022–23. The more the GDP rises, the more loans can be taken for development work. This year’s budget outlay is Rs 1.43 lakh crore, without imposing any additional tax burden on the people, he asserted.

The thrust of the state government is women’s empowerment, poverty alleviation, and the provision of more facilities for the beneficiaries of state schemes, among others. For the protection of the tribal population of the state, villages with a 100% tribal population will be converted to belts and blocks, so that, in the future, no non-tribals will be able to purchase land in these areas. Under Mission Basundhara 3.0, tea tribes and the Gorkhas will be given land pattas without taking into account their proof of residence for generations.

He asserted that providing jobs to one lakh youth is not important. What is significant is that they were provided jobs without having to shell out a single penny or resort to any court case, he said. Another achievement he quoted is that 80 lakh people were brought out of poverty during the tenure of the BJP government. In 2014, the percentage of BPL in the state was 36.9%. Of this, around 22% of people have been lifted out of poverty. The remaining 14% will also be brought above the poverty line in the coming days, he added.

 Also read: Ten lakh people may not get Aadhaar cards: Himanta Biswa Sarma

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