Economy / Assam

GUWAHATI, March 18 ? It is a mere refinery with only 0.65 million metric tonne per annum (MMTPA) capacity. It has no contribution to the industrial development of the country and hence it can never deserve a special treatment. Perhaps, this was the belief in the higher echelons of the Central Government when the announcement for 50 per cent excise duty relief to Digboi Refinery was made recently. The Refinery has been making feverish pleas for the past several years to provide it with a 100 per cent excise duty relief only to enable it to go for product diversification. But the said belief...

GUWAHATI, March 18 ? The state government employees today are in dire-straits because of the failure of the Government to pay their salaries regularly even as the week-long ceasefire by the employees demanding regular payment of salaries and wages continued to cripple the functioning of the departments. The employees staged hour-long demonstration in front of their respective offices from 1 pm for the second day today and the Sadau Asom Karmachari Parishad (SAKP) has threatened to intensity the agitation it the salaries and wages are not paid soon.

The SAKP secretary general Sri Charan Deka...

GUWAHATI, March 17 ? The police department is suffering heavy losses over the years due to its failure to realise the money due from the Central government and private organisations for deployment of police personnel. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), in its report for the year ending March, 2001, said that scrutiny of the records of the Office of the Director General of Police in December, 2000, revealed that against Rs 734.55 lakh spent as a cost of deployment of police guards between April, 1981 and March, 2000 in seven departments and organisations only Rs 206 lakh was...

GUWAHATI, March 15 ? Tourism in Assam in particular and the North-East in general is set to get a fresh lease of life following the operation of Air India flights to Bangkok beginning from April 4. This is the view shared by tour operators, travel agents, government departments and other agencies connected with tourism in the State. The mood in the tour operators? circle in the city is upbeat and they are working overtime to cash in on the business prospects that the new development is offering.

Jungle Travels India Pvt Ltd, a leading tour operator of the North-East which is also a member...

GUWAHATI, March 14?Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has indicted State Agriculture Department for ?misuse? of Rs 65.04 crore in the project for installation of one lakh shallow tube wells (STWs) during the year 1999-2000 with assistance from NABARD. In order to bring an additional area of two lakh hectares under assured irrigation, the Agriculture Department of Assam decided to install one lakh shallow tube wells (STWs) during 1999-2000 at a cost of Rs 230 crore including farmers? contribution of Rs 76.67 crore. The project was jointly financed by NABARD and Assam Government.

T...

GUWAHATI, March 13 ? The Power Minister Sri Devanand Konwar today admitted that the Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (BTPS) of the Assam State Electricity Baord (ASEB) has turned into a white elephant and under the present circumstances, it would be difficult to revive the project. Replying to a call attention motion by Sri Hemendra Nath Brahma (BDLP) in the State Assembly today. The Power Minister said that the BTPS has turned into a totally unviable and uneconomic project. The Minister said that three of the four units of the BTPS which had an installed capacity of 240 MW are out of order...

GUWAHATI, March 11? The Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, today informed the State Assembly that Rs 18,78,310 were spent from the State exchequer during the period from May 17,2001 to February 28,2002 as travel allowance of members of the State Ministry.

The House was informed that an amount of Rs 4,86,374 was spent as TA for the Chief Minister during the period, while Rs 84,657 was spent for Health and Rural Development Minister, Dr Bhumidhar Barman, Rs 65,801 for Handloom and Fishery Minister Dr Hemo Prova Saikia Rs 95,696 for Forest and Hill Areas Development Minister G C Langthasa, Rs 95,085...

GUWAHATI, March 11?The Finance Minister, Devanand Konwar, today presented a Rs 2600.06 crore deficit Budget for Assam for the year 2002-2003 in the State Assembly with proposals to impose additional tax on component parts and accessories of motor vehicles, motor cycles, three-wheelers, tractors, power tillers etc., and entry tax on eggS, fish, natural flowers among others. He also proposed to exclude hand-made eri, muga, pat and silk fabrics from the purview of the luxury tax. According to the Budget, only 18 per cent of the total expenditure will be on development. According to the Budget...

GUWAHATI, March 6 ? The State Government will initiate steps to regularise the land encroached by the tea gardens by imposing penalty, if necessary, said the Revenue Minister, Sri Devananda Konwar. In reply to a question by Sri Girindra Kumar Baruah (AGP) in the State Assembly today, the Minister said that it would be difficult for the Government to take over the encroached land, where plantations exist and the best way out is to regularise the same to boost the land revenue collection.

Sri Konwar revealed that Assam has 1081 tea gardens covering an area of more than 26,98,275 bigha and the...

GUWAHATI, March 6 ? The Comptroller and Audited General of India (CAG) has pointed out that the loss suffered by majority of the State public sector undertakings (PSUs) exceeded their paid-up capital. CAG, in its report for the year ended March 31, 2001, which was tabled in the State Assembly yesterday, said that the State has 42 PSUs comprising 38 government companies of which, 10 are non-working companies and 28 are working, and four statutory corporations. The total investment in the working PSUs increased from Rs 3569.17 crore as on March 31, 2000 to Rs 3649.37 crore as on March 31, 2001...