Economy / Assam

GUWAHATI, March 4 ? The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has detected loss of revenue amounting to Rs 15.14 crore in 72 cases in the Forest Department in the year 2000-2001. The CAG, in its report for the year 2000-2001, which was tabled in the State Assembly recently said that during that year, the State Forest Department lost revenue amounting to Rs 90.78 lakh on account of damage of timber, Rs 160.76 lakh for delay in settlement of mahal, quarry etc, Rs 128.73 lakh due to non-disposal and delay in disposal of timber, Rs 344.26 lakh due to locking up of revenue because of delay in...

GUWAHATI, Feb 28 – Union Finance Ministry officials, during a post-Budget video conferencing with a group of select journalists from the city, stated that the Budget proposes to protect the interests of mini-refineries of Assam in wake of dismantling of the Administered Price Mechanism (APM) through 50 per cent reduction of excise duty on refinery products. Regarding any special proposal in the Budget to give fillip to tourism sector in the north-eastern region, the Finance Ministry officials said that although no specific measure was proposed for improvement of tourism sector in the NE region...

NEW DELHI, Feb 28 — The Union Budget is unlikely to bring immediate relief to the fund-starved north-eastern States despite an enhanced Central plan allocation of Rs 5,016 crore, even as Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha sought to bail out the oil and tea sectors by continuing with subsidies to North-east-based refineries and a hike in customs duty on tea. Although the Union Budget for the year held no new surprises for the region, the Union Finance Minister ensured adequate Central funds for pending projects. The total allocation for the Department of Development of North-Eastern Region...

NEW DELHI, Feb 27 – Once pride of Assam, the oil sector, particularly the refining industry in the State faces an uncertain future in the face of a move to dismantle the administrative price mechanism (APM) forcing a high-powered parliamentary committee to recommend special fiscal measures to bail out the refineries in Assam. Union Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha’s Budget for the year to be tabled tomorrow would have a special significance for the State because his fiscal proposals would have a significant bearing on survival of the State’s four refineries. It is apprehended that dismantling...

GUWAHATI, Feb 26 : Government of India through a notification dated February 12, 2002 granted excise Duty exemption to new industrial units in all industrially approved locations under Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and several other industrial areas in the State. The notification was issued as an amendment to the July 8, 1999 notification of the Finance Ministry granting excise duty exemption to industrial units located in notified industrial areas in he State.

Sources in the industry circle here informed that in view of the fresh notification of excise duty exemption...

NEW DELHI, Feb 26 – Railway Minister Nitish Kumar today tried to undo the damage done by his predecessor Mamata Banerjee to the North-east in the last Railway Budget, sanctioning a number of long-pending demands including start of project work on Bogibeel bridge and increasing the frequency of the Rajdhani Express to seven days a week. What would bring cheers to the large Marwari community in the region is the proposal to start a weekly Guwahati-Jodhpur-Bikaner via Jaipur train. A new inter-city train service called Jan Shatabdi Express is being introduced between Guwahati-Dimapur. A total...

DIBRUGARH, Feb 25— The Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has sought to put the ball in the court of ONGC while blaming the latter for the delay in the setting up of Assam Gas Cracker Project even as the State Government has issued a deadline to the parties concerned over the issue. “Please do not blame us. The moment we get the gas commitments from ONGC, we are ready to go ahead with the Assam Gas Cracker project,” said a senior Reliance official Monday, when contacted by The Assam Tribune. Mentionably, ONGC is yet to give a firm commitment for the steady supply of 1.75 million metric tonnes...

NEW DELHI, Feb 23— Irked by the uncertainty over implementation of the gas cracker project, Assam Government is planning to allow six more months to all the concerned parties to resolve the stalemate before reviewing the project, highly placed official sources told this newspaper. When about six months later, the State Government sits to review the project, one of the options before it would be to axe the gas cracker project. This is partly due to the expert opinion that the project has become unviable, sources said.

This factor was brought to the notice of the Assam Government delegation led...

GUWAHATI, Jan 23 — The process to abolish the unnecessary posts in various departments to downsize the administration is now on but so far the State Government has not taken any decision to sack any existing employees. Official sources said that one of the major clauses of the financial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the State Government had signed with the Centre during the tenure of the previous Government was downsizing of the administration while the fiscal reforms committee, formed by the Government also stressed the urgent need for downsizing the administration. Sources revealed...

GUWAHATI, Feb 17— The Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (BRPL), the only major industry in the backward lower Assam area, is facing crisis due to the wrong policies of the Government and the refinery may even face closure if the Central Government does not come forward to grant excise duty exemption and transport subsidy. For the first time in its history, the BRPL suffered a net loss of Rs 57.44 crore in the last financial year and for the current financial year, the estimated net loss will be to the tune of Rs 200 crore. According to figures available, the BRPL earned a net...