In 2018, Hailakandi—once considered among Assam’s most underdeveloped districts—embarked on an accelerated developmental journey. That year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Aspirational Districts Programme, identifying 112 districts across the country and Hailakandi was one of them.
Since then, thanks to focused governance, community participation, and effective implementation of targeted schemes, the district has witnessed remarkable progress across several socio-economic indicators. Today, Hailakandi stands tall as one of the front-runners among the aspirational districts.
Solar Powering
With the mantra of Solar Energy for sustainable future, Hailakandi is driving a quiet revolution of successfully implementing PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. Many households especially in the more interior parts such as Lala and Algapur have turned to solar rooftops as a reliable alternative with the subsidies schemes under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
“For years, I depended entirely on conventional electricity to power my home. Like many others, I faced frequent power cuts, rising electricity bills and the uncertainty that came with it. But everything changed when I made the switch to solar energy,” said Nirmal Jyoti Paul Choudhury, a resident, adding, “Before its installation, my average monthly bill was around ₹2,800. However after the installation, the bill dropped down drastically with an average saving of ₹2,098 every month.”
Nirmal added, “Lighting Up My Home, Saving Every Month”.
Nirmal is not the only one. Hundreds from the remote corners of the district are switching to solar rooftop and getting massive benefits.
Rural Women on Forefront
Empowering women has been another major indicator of progress and development of the district. Witnessing the great demand of milk in and around the place, the district administration has encouraged local women to get involved in milk production with mostly indigenous breeds of cattle. Projecting the potential of nearly 180 villages in milk production, a project was designed to develop & increase employability among women by setting up of a dairy food product processing unit and impart skill development training on production & marketing of Cow & Soya Milk, Paneer, Tofu, Lassi, Curd, etc. Till date, 60 women have taken the training which is helping them to enhance their family income.
Minister of State for Food and Public Distribution Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya recently visited a Tofu (Soya Paneer) making unit run by the SHG members under the guidance of JEEVAN JYOTI MODEL-CLF at Gaglacherra and lauded the initiative.
“SHG members are doing great in terms of economic development of rural areas under the guidance of the district administration and ASRLM. Now, we need to focus on better & alternate packaging materials of the product to increase its shelf life so that the products can be marketed across the country by using e-marketing & other platforms for better market link,” the Union Minister remarked after his visit.
A Step Ahead in Ensuring Pure Water
Hailakandi has five Multi Village Piped Water Supply schemes among which Katlicherra Multi Village Water Supply Scheme is one. Before the introduction of the scheme, the people of the subdivision depended on unreliable water sources which made many susceptible to water borne diseases. The multi-village scheme emerged as a crucial solution to tackle this. Launched in 2012, the scheme has been supplying water to local households before the advent of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) into the area. It currently serves around 3,000 households.
Since 2014, it has been looked after by a user committee, which collects a monthly fee of ₹100 from each household. The committee oversees the finances and handles both minor and major operational expenses of the scheme.
According to Rajesh Das, Secretary, Katlicherra Multi Village Scheme “Whenever a problem arises, it is resolved with the assistance of the committee’s active members.”
The committee uses the collected tariffs to pay a monthly salary of officials involved in the scheme who diligently oversee all its aspects.
Speaking on the issue, a beneficiary Sanjoy Das, added, “Before the implementation of the multi-village scheme, people had to fetch water from distant places. With the introduction of the scheme, this time-consuming task has been eliminated, and clean drinking water is now supplied daily.”
From clean energy and water security to women’s empowerment and rural enterprise, the district is setting benchmarks for inclusive and sustainable development in Assam—and beyond.
