Economy / Assam

NEW DELHI, March 1 ? Infuriated by the delay in resolution of the logjam over implementation of the mega gas cracker project, Assam Government is likely to explore the possibility of handing over the project to public sector oil company. As a first step in this direction, Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi today held discussions with Members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to Assam this evening to consider all pros and cons. A dinner meeting was hosted by Chief Minister to felicitate an interaction on the gas cracker project and the financial crisis with the State?s 21 MPs belonging to both the Houses...

KOKRAJHAR, Feb 19 — More than 1.61 lakh persons, affected by the ethnic riots in Kokrajhar district in 1996 and 1998, are still languishing in 49 relief camps spreading all over the district. Though the State Government has started the process of rehabilitation of the relief camp inmates, the process is very slow because of paucity of funds. According to records available, as many as 1,10,269 persons, including 71386 adults and 38883 minors of 21,523 families, are living in 26 relief camps in Gossaigaon subdivision, while, 51,393 persons including 34,063 adults and 17,330 minors of 8660...

Guwahati, Feb. 18: Unable to resist the lure of a Rs 2,000-crore loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the cash-strapped Assam government has finally drafted a memorandum of understanding with the Centre on fiscal reforms. Highly-placed sources in the finance department told The Telegraph that the MoU, including a commitment to reduce the size of the workforce, would be signed after the state Cabinet approved it.

Dispur is under pressure from Delhi to sign the MoU as early as this month. The rewards are a special financial package of Rs 750 crore from the Centre and the huge ADB loan...

GOLAGHAT, Feb 8 ? The NRL is facing crisis for crude oil in Numaligarh Refinery Limited in the near future and the production will also be stopped, informed newsmen in a press meet held at NRL conference hall by Apurba Sharma, GM (Production). Sharma said that though the NRL has a strength of refining three million tonnes of crude oil last year, the NRL had refined only 2.3 million tonnes of crude oil instead of the capacity and only 1.8 million tonne of crude oil this year. Due to the scarcity of crude oil, the DCU unit has been stopped for more than one month. It becomes more expensive to...

GUWAHATI, Feb 2 ? The Centre has released funds for several prestigious projects in Assam from its non-lapsable pool of resources. The money has been released recently following sustained pressure from the State Government and the personal initiative of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Minister of State for Planning and Development, Himanta Biswa Sarma announced today.

Sarma, who was addressing mediapersons here today, said that over Rs 100 crore has already been made available by the Centre while the State Government is trying to procure some more funds. He rubbished allegations that the State...

Guwahati, Jan. 30: The World Bank has said it was ?satisfied? with the law and order situation in Assam, offering to enter into a long-term partnership with the state government for development projects.

Officials of the World Bank met state government officials last evening.

A seven-member mission of the global bank, led by P. Joardar, visited the state to review Phase I of Rs 550-crore Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services Project (ARIASP).

Top government officials were present on the occasion. The bank had earlier told the Assam government that it would not sanction funds...

Tiloijan (Moran), Jan. 23: Hundreds of birds are dying at the Tilojan Tea Estate near here under ?mysterious circumstances?, bringing an ambitious avian conservation project of the Assam government under a cloud.

The exact cause of the death of the winged species ? which began four days ago ? will be known only after the forest department receives the reports on the post-mortem conducted on a few carcasses recovered from the garden. Environmentalists say that one of the possible causes of the deaths could be an ?overdose of pesticides? by the garden authorities. But the picture will become...

DIBRUGARH, Jan 23 ? A report of a large number of residential birds falling prey to insecticide at the Tilonijan tea estate in the Dibrugarh district has raised the heckles of nature watchers and wildlife enthusiasts. Though it is common knowledge that tea gardens use pesticides and insecticides to keep unwanted insects and pests at bay, this is the first time that there are reports that birds are becoming the victims.

Several species of birds, viz, Red Vented Bulbul, Black Drongo, Indian Tree Pie, Common Myna, Jungle Myna and the Babbler have died in their hundreds in and around the...

GUWAHATI, Jan 23 ? The Tea Marketing Control Order (TMCO), 2003, which is expected to change the face of tea trading through registered tea auction centres in the country, has not gone down well with the tea buyers in the country. The tea buyers are finding the TMCO, 2003 provisions not friendly to their interests and have registered protests. The Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers? Association (GTABA) has registered their protest against implementation of the TMCO, 2003 and submitted a memorandum to the chairman of the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC).

A copy of the memorandum has also been sent...

BISWANATH CHARIALI, Jan 20 ? The Gramin Krishi Unnayan Prakalpa launched by the Assam Branch of Indian Tea Association (ABITA) throughout the State has yielded good results in the current agricultural season. Through the project, the ABITA familiarised the farmers with modern and scientific methods of cultivation as also with the multiple cropping system.

The project was initiated in 2000 at Panery in Mangaldoi circle of ABITA. When it met with resounding success, its activities were extended and more centres were set up at Biswanath Chariali, Balipara, Mazbat, Koliabor, Bokakhat, Namrup...