The woods are lovely
dark and deep, but I have promises to keep,
and miles to go
before I sleep
Dear Citizens,
With your blessings, our Government has been able to complete one successful year at the service of the people of Assam. While I, in all modesty and humility, would like to say that we have made a good beginning, I have no doubt that we all need to travel a lot more if we are to achieve the goal that we have set for ourselves: Make Assam one of the five best States in the country.
Ever since we assumed office, an inclusive government focused on development with a humane touch has been our motto. We have been relentless in the pursuit of our promise; all our endeavours during the year gone by are a testimony to it.
Greatly inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s mission of transforming the North East into a ‘New Engine of Growth’, we have been trying
hard to live up to your expectations. Thanks to our Prime Minister, the Centre’s focus on Assam and the North East is now at an all-time high. Over the
last one year, 33 Cabinet ministers have visited the State. Our long-standing border dispute with Meghalaya is on the cusp of being resolved once
and for all based on a historic pact signed recently. Efforts to achieve the same with other states are gaining traction too.
We have overcome the huge challenge posed by Covid-19, putting to good use the twin instruments of vaccination and awareness. The efforts put in by
the state health army and volunteers have come in handy in fighting off the second wave. I have no doubt that we managed to deal with Covid better than many other States. We ensured timely cash transfers to the needy; our compensation policy for the families of Covid victims has been widely appreciated.
Amid all this, the development agenda of our Government has never lost its focus. Revised architecture for delegation of financial powers has
been put in place to expedite implementation of major infrastructure and social sector projects and remove procedural bottlenecks. The result
is that our GSDP growth is among the highest in the country. We have emerged from the difficult days of Covid-induced lockdown to clock unprecedented growth. This encouraged us to increase our investment in Numaligarh Refinery Limited from 12.35% to 26% with an investment
of Rs 2,187 crore. Reforms in the power sector have also started yielding increasing revenue.
We are on course to fulfil our poll promise of one lakh jobs to our youth. Besides, we are rationalising the recruitment process. Steps are also being taken to conduct a common recruitment process for all Grade-III & IV posts having common minimum qualification so that the aspirants need not apply for such posts in different offices. Mission Basundhara has been launched successfully to secure indigenous people of the State their land rights, while increased allocation has been made under the Orunodoi scheme to nearly two million women in Assam.
We are aware that development will only come when there is peace in the State. There has been significant progress on this front. Insurgent groups
such as DNLA, ULB, NLFB have laid down arms, while the Bodo Peace Accord 2020 has gained momentum. I have used a number of platforms to appeal to the ULFA (I) to join the mainstream. Hope is what I always nurture.
We are carrying out administrative reforms for good governance. Cabinet meetings are being held on a weekly basis to fast-track consultative decision-making. Guardian ministers and Guardian secretaries have become more proactive. A new district of Tamulpur has been created. Departments with similar nature of work have been merged to make them more performance oriented and provide enhanced public service.
We have won encomium for our crackdown on drugs and cattle smuggling. I reiterate that this drive will continue unabated. The sight of grieving parents, especially mothers, is not what we want to see in Assam. A year is too short a period to truly bring about transformative change in a State, or, for that matter, to assess a government’s performance.
Nonetheless, we have made an earnest beginning. I take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to you all for your continued blessings. I believe that what we’ve achieved thus far is only the beginning, and that going forward, Assam will contribute more and more to the India growth story.
Himanta Biswa Sarma
Chief Minister, Assam
