Assam CM says the State is negotiating with the Center to build a defense corridor

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. | Photo Credit: ANI

The Assam government is in discussions with the Defense Ministry regarding the declaration of areas adjoining Guwahati near Nagaon as a defense zone, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said here on Tuesday (January 7, 2024).

Mr. Sarma made these remarks after holding a roadshow and a round table meeting with investors, diplomats from 36 countries, and other stakeholders ahead of the Investors and Infrastructure Summit to be held in Guwahati on February 25 and 26.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the ‘Advantage Assam Summit 2.0’ with Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck expected to attend. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will attend the conference, said Mr. Sarma while addressing the media.

“The major deployment of the Indian army is in the Northeast or Kashmir. Now, you take armored tanks to the Northeast but if you have to repair the tank, you have to bring it back to the mainland to the ordnance factory. Why can’t Assam be a major defense hub?” said Mr. Sarma. .

“The Assam government is actively involved in discussions with the Defense Ministry to declare the areas adjacent to Guwahati around Nagaon as defense zones,” he added.

Asked if the Government is pitching Assam, its ideal location, as a gateway to India’s neighbors in South Asia and South East Asia, Mr. Sarma said the current situation in Bangladesh and Myanmar does not allow such a position.

“When it comes to such a strategic place, people tend to discount the whole of India. My point is that if finished goods from Chennai can go to Assam, why can’t the reverse happen,” Mr. Sarma, pointing out that the State has great progress in infrastructure.

In his keynote address to diplomats, industry leaders and other stakeholders, the Chief Minister of Assam informed that new infrastructure projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore are coming up in the State. Three new bridges over the Brahmaputra, a satellite city around Guwahati with the help of the Singapore government and a railway from Guwahati to Gelepu in Bhutan were some of the major projects he highlighted during his collaboration.

Mr. Sarma said that Assam has been developing rapidly in infrastructure, health, education and other sectors in the last 10 years.

Emphasizing the importance of green energy, the Chief Minister said that the government’s focus has always been on clean and green energy and renewable energy. He said that the State government wishes that all industries, including the Tata semiconductor plant at Jagiroad, coming up in Assam get their power from green energy sources.

Describing Assam as one of the best growth engines of the country, growing at an average of 12.5%, Mr. Sarma wanted to portray the economy of his Kingdom as strong and robust.

He said apart from the economy, the State has come up with a large educational institution with prestigious institutions, including AIIMS, Indian Institute of Technology, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, many State and Central universities, an agricultural university, and future projects such as National. The university’s Institute of Electronics and Information Technology.

“Assam has the required capacity and capacity to deliver. It has the power to ensure that those willing to invest get the same incentives as offered by any other State in the country,” he said, adding that the government would set up a corpus fund for linked manufacturing worth Rs25,000 crore.