GUWAHATI, April 10 - Development is the main poll plank for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls in Assam, said Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. He also said that the BJP led Government has been adopting zero tolerance policy against terrorism to bring peace and development to the State.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Sonowal said that the people of the State have seen and experienced development and said that cooperation of all sections of people is required to carry forward the pace of development. He expressed the hope that the people of Assam would abide by the High Court�s order against bandhs to create business friendly atmosphere in the State to attract investors. He also said that on its part, the State Government would also try its best to abide by the High Court order.
Sonowal said that during the Global Investors� Summit, which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, around 240 agreements were signed for total investment of Rs 79,000 crore and implementation of projects worth Rs 50,000 crore including Rs 40,000 crore in public sector and Rs 10,000 crore in private sector has started. He said that the implementation of the projects would go a long way in overall economic development of the State.
The Chief Minister said that the capacity of Numaligarh refinery is being increased by three times with an investment of Rs 23,000 crore, while, for the first time in India, a bamboo based ethanol plant is being set up with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore. He said that the Central Government, in the last five years, has been giving stress on improving the connectivity of the North East region, which is vital for the overall development of this part of the country and double tracking of Railway tracks has started in phased manner while, electrification of the railway tracks from Jalpaiguri to Guwahati has also started. The Government of India is also giving stress on improving connectivity between the North East and South East Asian countries, he added.
Sonowal alleged that earlier the people of Assam had to resort to agitations for even construction of bridges, but the situation has now changed. He said that the process of construction of the pending projects like the Bogibeel bridge, Bhupen Hazarika Setu bridge, second bridge over the river Brahmaputra near the Saraighat bridge etc have been expedited and completed in the last five years, while, five new bridges over Brahmaputra and three over Barak are coming up. He pointed out that construction of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and National Agriculture Research Institute have started and the process of setting up of nine new medical colleges has started in Lakhimpur, Nalbari, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Nagaon, Tinsukia, Diphu and Karimganj. The Government is also setting up as many as 19 cancer hospitals in collaboration with the Tata Trust, which will immensely benefit the cancer patients of Assam and other parts of the region, he added.
The Chief Minister said that the Government has launched special schemes for all sections of people of the State including tea garden workers, farmers etc, while, 10,000 kilometres of village roads have been constructed under Prime Minister�s special package, while, one thousand wooden bridges are being converted into concrete ones. He said that with the support of the people, the Government would be able to transform Assam into one of the most advanced states of the country.
