SILCHAR, Sept 6 - Admitting that Barak valley has remained cut off from the mainstream Assam for long years which deterred the pace of the inclusive development of the State, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal reiterated his intent of parallel development of Barak valley along with Brahmaputra valley.
Addressing a meeting after laying the foundation stone of a project of road widening and strengthening of a 6-km road stretch worth Rs 20.34 crore from the Holy Cross School point, Silchar to Sonabari Ghat under Sonai constituency under the PWD NH Division, Sonowal said, �Unless Barak valley is developed, Assam cannot be called a developed State.�
The Chief Minister said, �Assam is blessed with abundance of water resource. There is immense potential and possibility in Barak valley which need to be tapped. However, Barak valley has been battling with dilapidated roads with its communication system plagued for years. We must work as �Team Assam� to foster the pace of development to establish Assam as an ideal socio-economically empowered State.�
Recollecting his experiences of visiting areas of Barak valley, Sonowal agreed that the roads and communication here are crying for attention, much to the dislike of the people who voted the BJP candidates to power to revive the situation. He informed that the impasse regarding obtaining the environment clearance for the 31-km road stretch on the Mahasadak which deterred the completion of the mega project has been overcome and in the coming season, the work to complete the road shall regain momentum.
The Chief Minister made his stance clear that there would be �zero tolerance� on corruption in the administrative wing of the government. �In the 100 days of the government, it has been observed that despite huge grants sanctioned by the Central Government and schemes allocated by the State Government, a large chunk of the funds is siphoned by the agents. There is a great need of a corruption-free administration for people to derive the benefits of the government schemes,� Sonowal said.
�This approach of a clean and corruption-free administration will materialise the �good governance� as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,� he said, claiming that no minister in his government was involved in any corrupt practices in the three-month tenure of the BJP-led alliance government in the State.
Giving vent to his love for Silchar, Sonowal said that the city is one of the oldest in Assam and has the potential to be the second largest urban sprawl in the State. But there is a lot to be done to make the city beautiful, he said.
�This is my second visit to Silchar this year as Chief Minister. I have had talks with the local MLAs and have asked the Cachar Deputy Commissioner to submit a scheme to turn Silchar into a beautiful city. People coming from outside should not bear bad impression about Assam by witnessing the filthy condition of the city,� Sonowal maintained, sharing an incident when a person at Premtola waved hands to greet him and indicate the litter all around on Monday.
