GUWAHATI, Feb 21 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for deciding to release Rs 6,320 crore of oil royalty to the State and said that this �gesture� of the Centre would go a long way in overall development of the State.
Sonowal, in a statement from New Delhi said that the decision of releasing oil royalty, which Assam has been demanding for a long time, would also bring back the confidence of the people and revive the growth cycle. �The strong leadership of our Prime Minister and his keen interest to bolster development of Assam and the Northeast has enabled the State to get its dues (oil royalty) which has long been ignored by the previous Congress-led UPA government,� he said.