Guwahati: Assam Cabinet meeting under the chairmanship of State chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, which was organized at Dhemaji in eastern part of the State on Thursday, took several major decisions regarding reliefs to nearly 11 lakh micro-finance borrowers, relief packages for Nagaon & Cachar papermill employees, various projects for Dhemaji and other adjacent localities, new municipal corporations with others.
The council of ministers’ meet approved rupees 1800 crore to provide reliefs to the micro-finance loanee (maximum up to rupees 25,000), who are making regular payments to the banks. The cabinet meeting also endorsed a rupees 700 crore relief package to the over one thousand distressed employees of Nagaon and Cachar projects under Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd, who are facing extreme hardships due to closure of the mills in 2017 and 2015 respectively.
Days back, CM Sarma had discussions with HPC employees’ unions & associations and agreed to provide the relief packages to the employees. The cabinet approval referred to assessing the quantum of relief package based on the PF, gratuity, pension, salaries and other dues as claimed before the liquidator.
Reliefs will also be offered to school teachers, contractual HPC co-operative’s workers, etc. The government will facilitate the employees, who have not completed their services, to get jobs in new industries to be established in the HPC lands, which will be acquired by the government after paying dues to the employees.
The meeting agreed to approve rupees 150 crore flood control packages for Dhemaji. It endorsed rupees 183 crore for construction of a road cum embankment starting from Jonai to Majuli river island. The cabinet in-principle approved the land acquisition for Dhemaji medical college hospital. Moreover rupees 50 crore was sanctioned for construction of integrated deputy commissioner’s office at Dhemaji and another 50 crore for a sports complex there.
It also endorsed the upgradation of Silchar MB to Silchar Municipal Corporation and Dibrugarh MB to Dibrugarh Municipal Corporation by providing more administrative powers with greater resources. Moreover, the cabinet meeting agreed to set up of a garbage transfer stations at two-bigha land at Panjabari by Guwahati Municipal Corporation.
Assam Cabinet approves reliefs to micro-finance borrowers, distressed HPC employees
