GUWAHATI, March 12 � Congress MLA Himanta Biswa Sarma today said that the �fight against poverty� should be the major agenda of the State government over the next decade or so and the attempt should be to accelerate development and take up ambitious projects like State Water Grid and State Irrigation Grid.
Participating in the general discussion on the Budget in the Legislative Assembly, Sarma said that while the State had achieved a lot in the last few years, the target should now be to eradicate poverty and ensure that Assam found a place among the top five states in terms of economic development.
�The Chief Minister has brought the State from darkness to light. Now we want Assam to become �Jyotishmaan� (luminous),� he said.
Sarma added, �The fight against poverty should be the main agenda over the next 12 years. Otherwise, minor and temporary schemes and allocations merely will not suffice. This is the road ahead, a new journey on which we have to embark.�
He admitted that while Assam had progressed in many spheres over the past 14 years, a lot of shortcomings remained to be addressed. �As many as 31 per cent of the people of Assam are BPL� With such a huge number of poor people, it is no wonder that Assam has a low rate of literacy, a low human development index and very high maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate,� Sarma added.
He said that the State government would have to spend more than other states and accelerate development to catch up with the national average.
Citing the example of Telangana, Sarma said that the new state has decided to go ahead with a project to construct a water grid involving laying of 1.27 lakh km of pipelines and has also set a target to achieve 20,000 MW power generation capacity in three years.
�Even policemen and doctors have contributed their salaries for the project in Telangana, which has taken the shape of a mass movement. Where is such kind of a dream in Assam? Our Chief Minister has a historic responsibility. Assam also needs a water grid to provide drinking water and irrigation at people�s doorsteps. That is the kind of dream the young generation of Assam is looking for,� he said.
Complimenting Gogoi for his performance as Chief Minister, Sarma said, �Our Chief Minister deserves our appreciation for all he has achieved. But now we need giant and accelerated steps to take Assam among the top ranking states of India.�
He called upon the State government to undertake a Chief Minister�s Sanitation Drive. �There are 20 lakh people in Assam without access to latrines. Why cannot we have a Chief Minister�s Sanitation Drive. It will have a huge impact,� he said, adding that efforts should also be made in the field of solar power harnessing.