Here are the key highlights of Assam's Rs 2.9 lakh crore budget

Women, police, cleaners, entrepreneurs, Assamese cinema, borrowers, educational institutes, and the tea community were seen as major concerns in the Assam Budget 2024-2025

Guwahati: Assam Finance Minister Ajanta Neog on Monday presented a Rs 2.9 lakh crore Budget for the 2024-2025 financial year with a deficit of Rs 774.47 crore.

As part of the budget, 10 lakh girls will be supported with financial grants as admission incentives to continue their education to higher secondary, graduation, and post-graduation studies. Furthermore, admission incentives of Rs 10,000 will be paid to each female student who joins the eleventh standard. Similarly, Rs 12,500 will be paid to those girls who join graduation, while postgraduation joinees will get an admission incentive of Rs 15,000. The government has allocated Rs. 240 crore for this.

Meanwhile, 39 lakh women members of Self-Help Groups in rural areas will receive Rs 10,000 as an entrepreneurship fund, stated Neog, adding that the "government’s twin objectives are to strengthen the income of our women entrepreneurs and also to establish them as business entrepreneurs."

At the same time, the flagship scheme 'Orunodoi 2.0' would expand its reach to transgender, divyangjan, and individuals with various health conditions with a Rs 3,800 crore allocation. Rs 550 crore has been allocated towards making 12 lakh women free from the “debt trap” under the Assam Micro Finance Initiative and Relief Scheme, said Neog. 

The Chief Minister’s Atmanirbhar Asom Abhijan, at the same time, allocates Rs 1,010 crore for over 1 lakh youth to foster entrepreneurship.

At the same time, several new generation “marquee projects”, such as Maa Kamakhya Divyalok Pariyojna, GMCH re-development, renovation of the Nehru Stadium, modernization of the Assam state zoo, and others, have also been allocated under budget. The FM also announced the developments under the Asom Mala 2.0 road projects, sanctioned for Rs 3,500 crore, under which 12km of roads have been developed every day in the last 2 years.

As part of new green initiatives, Neog announced the plantation of 3 crore saplings (Rs 40 crore), the introduction of green buses, and energy audits of government buildings (Rs 10 crore). For tea tribes, the government has resolved payment toward arrear electricity dues amounting to Rs 75 crores.

As a quest for cultural identity, announced Neog, projects for the upliftment of heritage belts and locations of cultural significance, including sattras (vaishnavite monastery) will be undertaken. A festival in Taralangsho of Karbi Anglong district – to be observed similarly to Nagaland’s iconic Hornbill – has also been announced. The government is also planning to build 50 cinema halls to promote arts and culture across Assam.

The state government will also send 25,000 devotees from the state to the newly-inaugurated Ram Temple in Ayodhya for Rs 25 crore, Neog revealed.

A youth club in every Assembly constituency, a new high-performance sports centre in Kokrajhar, and work on stadiums in Chandrapur and Dibrugarh were announced as part of sporting upgrades.

To control flood outbreaks, the government will spend Rs 200 crore to integrate wetlands with the Brahmaputra River for “diversion”. So far, 271 wetlands and lakes have been found suitable for this purpose.

The Mukhya Mantri Aawas Yojana (Gramin), on the other hand, will help beneficiaries – 10% of which will be from tea tribes – to build their houses.

On Saturday, some key cabinet decisions included approval of Assam Village Defence Organisation Bill, 2024. The amendment of Assam Municipal Act 1956 for efficient urban administration was also approved. The proposed bill seeks to define roles and responsibilities of three state municipal cadres - namely Assam Urban Administrative Service, Assam Urban Engineering service and Assam Urban Financial Services. For sustainable development, 10 cities' development concept is also to be introduced ensuring standards of urban development. For administrative efficiency, 352 additional posts are to be created in Assam.

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