Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is steering Assam toward manufacturing. He wants to leave behind a history of shutdowns. His plan relies on big-ticket investments in chips, food, and power. Sarma says these projects are real. They are not just promises on paper.
Sarma points to Tata Electronics at Jagiroad. This semiconductor plant involves a 27,000-crore investment. Pilot chip production has started there. Meanwhile, PepsiCo India opened a 778-crore food plant in Nalbari on September 10. It sits on 44.2 acres and employs 700 people. Women make up 75 per cent of that staff. The company plans to grow its local farmer network from 600 to 5,000.
Energy is a pillar of this strategy. A 48,000-crore thermal power plant is coming to Chapar. The government laid the foundation stone on September 20. It will hold four 800 MW units. Commissioning starts in December 2030. Other projects include a 10,601-crore ammonia-urea plant at Namrup. Numaligarh Refinery is also expanding. Its capacity will jump from three million to nine million tonnes annually. This is supported by a 1,635-km crude oil pipeline from Paradip.
Sarma credits better roads and faster approvals for this change. He mentions 5 lakh crore in commitments from the Advantage Assam 2.0 summit. He wants to focus on industrial parks and skill training now. He says these efforts help youth stay in the state. Sarma stated, "The projects underway in Nalbari, Jagiroad and Chapar represented tangible progress rather than promises on paper."
Political tension is bubbling alongside these deals. Sarma is fighting claims from Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi. Gogoi says the government is slow to pay flood victims. Sarma rejects this. He plans to send damage data from three districts to the Central Government shortly. He expects to pay 57,000 eligible families soon. He slammed Gogoi for politicizing the crisis. Sarma noted that electricity was cut for 1.30 lakh people, not the two lakh figure Gogoi claims.
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