In 100 days, sowing the seeds of a New Assam
It is often said, well begun is half done. Ever since our government assumed office in Assam in early May, we have endeavoured to live up to people’s expectations and deliver to them the Assam of their dreams. While 100 days may be too short a period to bring about transformative change, especially in governance, the seeds have been sown and will bear fruit shortly.
Building on Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s philosophy of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayas”, we aim to ensure citizen-friendly governance in the state. Continuous engagement with citizens is an essential part of participatory governance. A case in point: The positive response to our government’s call for affluent people to surrender their ration cards. This appeal was made to ensure that those who need these benefits can avail them.
Our government was formed amid the devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. To tackle this, Team Assam, led by Covid warriors, dedicated its entire effort under the guidance of the PM. We adopted the test, treat, trace, and vaccinate strategy. We have also made preparations to minimise the impact of a possible third wave.
With the tireless efforts of health workers, we brought the positivity rate down from 9.13% to 0.73%, installed oxygen generation plants with a total capacity of 13.56 MT, nearly doubled the number of intensive care unit beds in state medical college hospitals from 793 to 1,308, and administered over 14.8 million doses of the vaccine.
We recognise the long-term loss caused by Covid-19, particularly to children who have lost their parents in the pandemic. We announced the chief minister’s Shishu Seva Scheme under which the state will provide these children with monthly support until the age of 24.
In these 100 days, we have taken firms steps to defeat several other ills that confront our society, threaten our civilisational heritage, and undermine our future. A drug-free society is essential for a prosperous Assam. In 100 days, the Assam Police made great strides in demolishing the infrastructure that facilitated the supply of drugs and narcotics. Working under the guidance of Union home minister Amit Shah, we seized drugs worth ₹183 crore, and arrested 1,760 people. We will continue to fight the drug menace with an iron fist and achieve our mission of a drug-free Assam.
As mentioned in our election manifesto, the protection of cattle — revered in our culture — is a top priority. Delivering on our poll promise, we passed the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021. With this, we intend to stop the illegal trade and transit of cattle through Assam, which was rampant over the years. Further, we led encroachment drives to clear illegal settlements built around our temples and namghars (prayer houses).
When I see files that come to my desk for approval, I prioritise those which reflect unfulfilled aspirations of our people. And in these 100 days, we have tried to shake status quo to ensure speedier outcome. People have voted for us with great expectations and we have to race against time to deliver them. For instance, in my various interactions with people, I came across heart-wrenching stories of women being exploited by micro finance lenders for not able to repay small amounts of money. This was unacceptable and had to stop; our government cannot be a silent bystander to such injustice. We made a promise during the election to provide relief to small borrowers. To effect this, we notified the Assam Microfinance Incentive and Relief Scheme in 100 days by bringing all stakeholders on board.
For us, our Sankalp Patra (the Bharatiya Janata Party manifesto) is a sacred document. In the past 100 days, we either delivered on these promises or are working hard towards realising them. For instance, we have increased financial assistance under the Assam Orunodoi scheme from ₹830 to ₹1,000 per month and added 638,000 new beneficiaries. We increased the wages of tea garden workers from ₹167 to ₹205 in the Brahmaputra Valley, and from ₹145 to ₹183 in the Barak Valley, with retrospective effect from February 2021. Deen Dayal Upadhaya’s clarion call of “Antyodaya” is the foundational premise of our policies and we will continue to focus on the last person in the queue.
Assam’s ace boxer, Lovlina Borgohain’s historic feat at the Tokyo Olympics was the proudest moment for every Assamese. We celebrated the occasion with great fervour by working towards ensuring that many more Lovlinas represent India at the 2024 Olympics.
To ensure that the next five years are a glorious era in Assam’s history, we used the first 100 days to lay the foundation for transformative change. Under the maxim of “minimum government and maximum governance”, we delegated more powers to district deputy commissioners to fast-track Jal Jeevan Mission targets, allot land for industries and expedite flood relief work. In this short period, Assam became the first state to pass the Model Tenancy Act to provide a framework for resolving disputes between tenants and landlords. Assam has also become the second state to have an ethanol policy. For the first time, we created a consolidated database of all government-owned land within 100 days.
In the past, governments at the Centre and in the Northeast had left inter-state borders undemarcated and ambiguous. Over the past 100 days, we made progress to put an end to these decades-old legacy disputes, particularly with Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram.
With the BJP at the Centre and in the state, the double engine of growth is gaining momentum in Assam. Along with our colleagues in the central government, we are speeding up the implementation of key central schemes such as Jal Jeevan Mission, PM Awas Yojana, and PM Kisan. Assam kicked off Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on a historic note. For the first time since 1979, this year’s Independence Day was celebrated without any call for bandh by any extremist organisation.
These milestones in our 100-day journey are reflective of the progress we are making in bringing Assam from the periphery to the epicentre of India’s progress and development. Governance is a team effort. It cannot be done without the people of Assam. And the first 100 days is a testament to the fact that Assam’s contribution will only keep increasing as we build a New India.