CM Sarma announces Rs 200 Cr dairy plant in Mariani, focus on rural self-reliance

Jorhat, Feb 26: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Tuesday that the State government was mulling setting up of a major dairy plant at Mariani entailing an investment of Rs 200 crore.

In this context, Sarma expressed hope that the project would immensely benefit the people besides helping them to become self-reliant.

He said that the government would assist the people in taking up dairy farming. The milk would then be collected through cooperative societies and supplied to the plant. “Thereafter, the government would facilitate selling the milk in the market,” the Chief Minister said.

Earlier, speaking at the Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyan (MMUA) cheque distribution ceremony at Boisahabi Tea Estate ground near Selenghat (Mariani LAC) of Jorhat district, the Chief Minister said that the initiatives launched by the government to enable women to become economically and socially empowered, was transforming their lives.

He said that his government has undertaken a slew of initiatives for women empowerment and welfare since the past five years, and MMUA, popularly known as the Lakhpati Baideo scheme, is one of them.

Informing that 29,000 beneficiaries from the Mariani Assembly constituency would be benefitting under MMUA, Sarma said that altogether 32 lakh women would be covered across the State under the scheme.

Sarma also took a dig at the past Congress governments during whose rule yarn, blankets, lungis, mosquito nets were distributed to people. He alleged that the process was full of anomalies resulting in a large number of beneficiaries being deprived of the goods.

Listing a slew of schemes initiated by the State government for the benefit of women and girls, Sarma said that at present 40 lakh women are benefitting every month under the Orunodoi scheme, another flagship scheme for women.