Economy / Assam

KOKRAJHAR, June 15 – The State Government has released Rs ten crore for rehabilitation of 10,000 families of relief camp inmates who are languishing at different relief camps in Dhubri, Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar due to the Bodo-Adivasi ethnic violence in 1996-1998, informed Binkanta Soren, vice-chairman of Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam here recently.

Soren further informed that the State Government also sanctioned 15 days ration to the camp inmates which will be distributed within this month along with rehabilitation grants. After proper rehabilitation of these 10,000 families, the Central...

GUWAHATI, June 11: The Economic Survey of Assam, 2004, which was released today by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi contains mixed news for the people: whereas it projects an impressive growth rate of GDP and per capita income of the State, it warns that the industrial sector needs to be revved up to accelerate this growth.

The report has predicted an advance figure for the State’s GDP at more than 6 per cent for 2003-04, a quantum jump from the ‘quick’ estimate of 3.9 per cent for 2002-03. It may be mentioned here that the corresponding figure for 1994-95 was 2.8 per cent, which had gone up to 3.2...

NEW DELHI, June 11 – Assam Government has sought Rs 170 crore incentive package from the Union Commerce Ministry for attracting investors to buy the Assam Tea Corporation (ATC).

In a memorandum to the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Kamal Nath, the State Government has petitioned him on a whole range of issues ranging from trade with ASEAN countries, Inland Transport assistance to sharp fall in price of tea to matter relating to waiver of excise duty. The State Industries Minister, Bhubaneswar Kalita who was in the capital, met the Union Commerce and Industries Minister yesterday and...

Guwahati/New Delhi, June 10: Assam’s preparations for the 2005 National Games received a major jolt with the only private firm in talks with Dispur to construct the National Games village having almost thrown in the towel. The back-off comes in less than 24 hours of the cabinet approving the land price recommended by the committee headed by chief secretary J.P. Rajkhowa.

The cabinet last night approved the Rs 5 lakh per katha recommended by the Rajkhowa Committee for the 70 bigha plot belonging to the water resources department on which the village is supposed to come up.

Sources said...

SHILLONG, June 8 – Among the north-eastern States, Assam is the highest contributor of income-tax. Out of a total of Rs 590 crore revenue collected from income-tax in the entire North East in the 2002-03 financial year, Assam alone accounted for a whopping Rs 509 crore, Commissioner of Income-Tax, Guwahati, TM Das informed. In the current financial year there was a substantial increase in revenue collection which stood at 12,000 crore from the region, in which Assam’s contribution is again expected to be substantial, Das said, addressing a press conference at the Shillong Press Club on Monday...

GORESWAR, June 4 – The proposed steel plant commissioned in 1997 at Dagaon village of Kamalpur LAC falling under Rangiya sub-division, is now lying in an incomplete state due to undue delay of the authorities concerned as well as the State Government. It may be noted that the proposed steel plant had the enough potential to boost the development process and employment opportunity among the unemployed educated youths of the vast area of Kamalpur LAC including the Rangiya sub-division area.

The Union Government had agreed to provide financial assistance for carrying out the project way back in...

NEW DELHI, June 4 — The Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport is likely to become hub of air operation of Alliance Air’s regional air service and the North-East is again going to be back on the international air map with Indian Airlines shortly resuming the Guwahati-Bangkok flight. Announcing this at a press conference here today Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that the assurance to the effect was given by Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel. The shifting of operational base of the regional air service from Kolkata to Guwahati was a long-pending demand as was the demand for resumption of the...

GUWAHATI, June 2 – More than floods, it is erosion that is posing a serious threat to Assam and according to an estimate, the State is losing land valued at Rs 300 crore a year due to severe erosion, particularly all along the south bank of the river Brahmaputra. Highly placed official sources told The Assam Tribune that the estimate of the loss was a very conservative one as the damage caused to different kinds of structures and crops were not taken into account while preparing the estimate. Sources also revealed that the plain districts of Assam already lost seven percent of the total land...

GUWAHATI, May 31 – It seems that the State’s efforts at power reforms may go haywire as the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) authorities’ failure to include a sum of around Rs 1,900 crore for the terminal benefit of the Board employees. The Board had earlier formulated a proposal for introducing reforms in the power sector worth Rs 1,200 crore for the purpose of availing a loan worth 250 million dollars from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The latest stand-off in the ASEB following the agitational programme announced by the State wing of the National Coordination Committee of...

Dibrugarh, May 29: Talks between the Consultative Committee of Planters’ Associations (CCPA) and the Asom Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) remained inconclusive today on the demand for hiking daily labour wages of the tea gardens located in the Brahmaputra Valley. ACMS general secretary Madhusudhan Khandait, who has already demanded a 40 per cent hike in the daily labour wages, said here today that the three-hour-long meeting could not yield significant results. The members representing the CCPA strongly opposed the hike in any form.

The last three-year bilateral agreement between the CCPA and...