In the Assam Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Guwahati, many important decisions related to the development, industry, welfare and elections of the state were taken. Giving information about the decisions after the meeting, the Chief Minister said that the government has approved industrial investment worth about Rs 11,000 crore. Along with this, many decisions were also taken regarding community beel i.e. conservation of wetlands, Orunodoi scheme, bonus of tea garden employees and Durga Puja holiday.
The Cabinet has approved the proposed investment of about Rs 11,000 crore in Assam by JK Lakshmi Cement Limited. Under this investment, one clinker manufacturing unit and four cement grinding units associated with it will be established in the state.
According to the government, this project is expected to provide direct employment to about 2,000 people. Apart from this, the Cabinet also approved State Capital Investment Subsidy for those eligible manufacturing units which are eligible under Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialization Scheme i.e. UNNATI, 2024, but could not register in the scheme till the extended deadline of 30 September 2026.
102 community beels will be renovated
The Assam government has decided to restore and conserve at least 102 degraded community wetlands under the Assam Sustainable Wetland and Integrated Fisheries Transformation (SWIFT) project. The estimated cost of this project is Rs 796.88 crore. Of this, Rs 637.504 crore will come from the loan of Asian Development Bank and Rs 159.376 crore will come from the share of Assam government. The objective of the project is to strengthen wetland management at the community level and also to improve the livelihood of people associated with fish farming.
Spice Board's modern lab to be built in Guwahati
The Cabinet has also approved the construction of a state-of-the-art lab and associated infrastructure for the Spice Board under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry at Ulubari, Guwahati. Rent-based or pro-bono model will be adopted for this. The Agriculture Department, in collaboration with PWD (B), will construct the building as per the design and technical standards given by the Spice Board. Its objective is to strengthen the facilities related to quality checking and export of spices produced in Assam.
More money on puja to Orunodoi beneficiaries
On the occasion of Durga Puja, the Assam government has decided to increase the amount for the beneficiaries of Orunodoi scheme for the month of October. Instead of the regular Rs 1,250, Rs 1,500 will be given in October. That means beneficiaries will get additional Rs 250 this month. The government has decided to provide this as additional assistance on the occasion of Durga Puja.
20 percent bonus to tea workers, additional leave on October 17
The Assam Cabinet has approved giving 20 percent bonus to the eligible employees and workers of Assam Tea Corporation Limited i.e. ATCL. Apart from this, additional holiday for Durga Puja has been declared on 17 October 2026. This will be in addition to the four puja holidays already notified.
Two autonomous council elections will be held in November
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that elections for Mising Autonomous Council and Sonowal Autonomous Council will be held in November. Both the elections will be held on a party-less basis, that is, there will be a party-less system instead of the official party symbols of the political parties.
Himanta Sarma in support of CEC Gyanesh Kumar
- Along with the cabinet decisions, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also reacted to the ongoing political debate regarding the Election Commission. He defended Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid questions being raised regarding the functioning of SIR and the Election Commission.
- Sarma said that the Election Commission is a collective institution and CEC alone cannot take any decision. According to him, the decisions of the Commission are taken on the basis of consensus or majority. He said that saying that decisions are taken unilaterally by the CEC is not in accordance with the constitutional structure.
- Sarma also said that targeting CEC is a political campaign being run by the opposition. He used very sharp language to criticize the opposition and in his statement called the critics 'Dimagi Naxals'. This comment is a political statement by Sarma.
- This reaction of the Chief Minister has come at a time when reports of alleged differences within the Election Commission regarding some decisions related to SIR and voter list have come to light. According to reports, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had filed objections on matters related to SIR and voter list on several occasions. The Election Commission, on the other hand, has said that differing opinions, written comments and technical suggestions are a normal part of the decision process and final decisions related to SIR were taken unanimously.
In this way, in the Assam Cabinet meeting, many announcements were made related to industry, employment, wetland conservation and common people. At the same time, the Chief Minister's statement regarding CEC was also much discussed in the national political debate.