Assam allocates Rs 8 billion for road construction in 800 tea estates

01 Jun 2024

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that his government would undertake the construction of all-weather roads in 800 tea gardens across the state, with an expenditure estimated at Rs 80 million. He made this declaration while addressing a press conference, noting that earlier in the day, the state cabinet had approved the proposal aimed at enhancing connectivity within the tea gardens.

He stated that the cabinet had given its approval for the construction of line roads in 800 gardens to ensure all-weather connectivity. Sarma mentioned that each road would be built at a cost of Rs 10 million, totalling the approved expenditure to Rs 8 billion.

Furthermore, the cabinet sanctioned a proposal to allocate Rs 80 million to each school for upgrading the infrastructure of 126 state-run educational institutes, which would involve a total expenditure exceeding Rs 10 billion. Sarma articulated a goal to improve the building infrastructure of 500 government high schools during his tenure, noting ongoing work in 126 schools and upgrades planned for infrastructure in 252 schools following the recent decision.

Looking forward, Sarma indicated the government's intention to consider upgrading the infrastructure of an additional 1,000 Assamese medium high schools in its subsequent tenure post the 2026 assembly polls.

Regarding the Real-Time Data Acquisition System (RTDAS), Sarma informed that the cabinet had approved guidelines for its installation and maintenance, aiming to facilitate effective collection of hydrological data for water resource planning and flood forecasting in critical river basins of the state. He mentioned that a 10-year tentative roadmap had been endorsed for the installation of nearly 800 RTDAS units across Assam.

Discussing another initiative, Sarma mentioned that state-run coaching institutes for economically disadvantaged and middle-class students were being established in various towns to prepare them for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

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