Guwahati, Oct 8 (PTI) Assam has come a long way from being a supplier of agricultural and mineral resources to other states to emerging as a manufacturing hub, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday.
Sarma was speaking at programmes in Jamugurihat in Sonitpur district, where he inaugurated several projects, including a dairy processing unit and a tile manufacturing plant, according to a release issued by the Chief Minister’s Office.
He inaugurated a dairy processing project at the Kanyaka Marketing Complex at Shantipur, constructed under the Chief Minister’s Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana, and formally launched a tile manufacturing unit of Allemby Ceramics Pvt Ltd at Dighali Chapori.
Sarma said the tile project was the first glazed vitrified tile manufacturing unit in eastern India and had been established as a joint venture between Northeast-based Lohiya Group and Vermora Group.
The industrial unit has been set up with an investment of around Rs 250 crore on 100 bighas of land and will use China clay sourced from the Karbi hills, he said.
The factory will provide direct employment to 325 people and indirect employment to more than 1,000 others, according to the chief minister.
“There was a time when Assam’s agricultural and mineral resources were transported outside the state, where industries were subsequently established using those resources. That situation is now changing,” Sarma said.
Referring to the recent inauguration of a PepsiCo chips manufacturing plant in Nalbari using potatoes grown in Assam, he said the tile factory was another example of industries using the state’s own resources.
On the Kanyaka project, Sarma said the 20,000-litre milk chilling and processing facility, established with state government assistance, would be developed jointly with Bihar’s COMFED, which markets dairy products under the Sudha brand.
Sarma said the state had faced a shortage of land for industries in the past, with a substantial portion allegedly occupied by encroachers.
Over the last five years, the government has reclaimed 1.5 lakh bighas of land from encroachers and put it to use for the forest department and people, he claimed.
On employment, Sarma said the government had provided 1.60 lakh government jobs during its previous term and would provide employment to another two lakh young people over the next five years.
“Unemployment cannot be resolved through government jobs alone; an agricultural and industrial renaissance is also necessary,” he said.
Sarma said Dighali Chapori had further industrial potential, with Farm Box Bio Pvt Ltd planning to establish a precision fermentation project to manufacture chemicals required by Numaligarh Refinery and produce ethanol from bamboo.
He said three major industries would eventually be established at Dighali Chapori and could create employment opportunities for 15,000 to 20,000 young people.
Acknowledging the need for dedicated marketplaces to sell products manufactured by women entrepreneurs under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyan, the CM said exclusive markets for women would be established at all central locations across the state.
Later in the afternoon, the chief minister took part in another programme at the Kanyaka Multipurpose Project at Jamugurihat, where he distributed municipal vehicles and inaugurated a swimming pool and a marriage hall.
These initiatives will provide sports facilities for local youth, an affordable marriage hall for the people and improved sanitation services for the residents of the town. PTI SSG SSG MNB
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