Dairy Revolution & Tea Tourism: Assam Cabinet’s Major Approvals to Transform State's Economy

In a significant move aimed at addressing urban challenges, promoting agriculture, and boosting local industries, the Assam Cabinet has approved a series of key decisions. These developments were shared with the media during a press conference by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday.

The Cabinet has approved the restructuring of the Directorate of Town and Country Planning to better reflect the current urban challenges faced by the state, including urban flooding. As part of this restructuring, two additional posts of Joint Directors and 46 new positions, including GIS experts and specialist architects, have been sanctioned to enhance the department’s capabilities in managing urban planning issues effectively.

In another major step, the Cabinet has greenlit the establishment of two milk processing plants in Jorhat and Dibrugarh, each with a capacity of 100 tonnes per day (TLPD). These plants are expected to significantly contribute to the dairy industry. Additionally, two more milk processing plants are being planned in Dhemaji and Cachar, further supporting the state's dairy sector.

The government also approved a scheme aimed at providing a subsidy of 25 per litre to dairy farmers selling their produce through Dairy Co-operative Societies. The subsidy will be directly transferred to the farmers through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, marking a big boost to their livelihoods and income.

Supporting nature-based industries, the Cabinet has approved the notification of Oil Palm Crop as a Cash Crop in Assam. This decision is expected to boost local income and provide livelihood opportunities. Additionally, guidelines have been approved for declaring Industrial Estates for the promotion and development of wood-based industries, providing further opportunities for local industries to flourish.

The Cabinet also announced approval for two tea tourism projects aimed at boosting Assam’s tea tourism sector. These projects will be located at the Lepetkata Tea Estate in Dibrugarh and the Durrung Tea Estate in Sonitpur, helping to showcase Assam’s tea heritage to tourists and boosting the state’s tourism economy.

To ensure that indigenous communities have access to land, the Cabinet approved several measures, including the non-conversion of the Deochali Proposed Reserve Forest (PRF) in Dibrugarh into a Reserve Forest. The Cabinet also approved accepting manual applications under Mission Basundhara until January 31st for public institutions such as Mandirs, Namghars, and other indigenous family land rights.

In a bid to support small traders, the Cabinet exempted small vegetable and paan-tamul vendors from paying any form of fees to Mahaldar. This relief is aimed at easing the financial burden on small traders, particularly in local markets.

The Cabinet also took a significant step in addressing the educational sector by setting up a sub-committee to study the inclusion of genuine educational institutions established prior to 2006 that were left out from the list of provincialized schools. The sub-committee will review the exclusion and suggest measures within a month to include them in the provincialization list.

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