"Assam Govt Spent Rs 370 Cr on Ads in Four Years": Pijush Hazarika in Assembly

The Assam government under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has spent over Rs 370 crore on advertisements in the last four financial years, Information and Public Relations Minister Pijush Hazarika informed the Assembly on Wednesday.

Hazarika, responding to a question by MLA Abdul Batin Khandakar, stated that the current BJP-led government has allocated Rs 372.33 crore towards advertisements across print, electronic, and outdoor media since the 2021-22 fiscal.

In comparison, the previous government, led by Sarbananda Sonowal, who served as Assam's chief minister from 2016 to 2021, had spent Rs 125.6 crore on advertisements over five financial years. "The year-wise figures shared for both the regimes showed that the Sonowal government in 2020-21 had spent Rs 30.24 crore, which jumped to Rs 72.83 crore in the next year after Sarma assumed charge for the second NDA dispensation in the state," Hazarika said.

The spending on advertisements has seen a steady rise under the Sarma government, with Rs 78.85 crore allocated in 2022-23 and Rs 160.92 crore in 2023-24. In the ongoing 2024-25 fiscal year, Rs 59.72 crore has been utilized so far for various advertisements, the Assembly was informed.

In response to a separate query from Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi, Hazarika revealed that the Assam government had spent Rs 18.58 crore on advertisements in 2015-16, the final fiscal year of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's tenure. The expenditure rose to Rs 26.88 crore in 2016-17 under the Sonowal government.