Assam CM says State in talks with Centre to create a defence corridor

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

The Assam government is actively negotiating with the Defence Ministry for the declaration of areas adjoining Guwahati towards Nagaon as a defence corridor, 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 inaugurate the ‘Advantage Assam Summit 2.0’ with Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck expected to be in attendance. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar would be attending the summit, Mr. Sarma said while briefing press persons.

“The biggest deployment of Indian armed forces are either in the north-eastern States or Kashmir. Now, you take armoured tanks to the Northeast but when 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 big defence corridor?” Mr. Sarma said.

“The Assam government is actively engaged in discussion with the Ministry of Defence for declaration of the adjoining areas of Guwahati towards Nagaon as defence corridor,” he added.

Asked if the Government is pitching Assam, for its strategic location, as a gateway to India’s South Asian neighbours and the South East Asia, Mr. Sarma said the present situation in Bangladesh and Myanmar does not allow such a positioning.

“When there is talk about such strategic location, people tend to discount rest of India. My point is if finished goods from Chennai can go to Assam, why can’t the reverse also happen,” Mr. Sarma, pointing out that the State has major strides in infrastructure.

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

Mr. Sarma said Assam has been making rapid progress in infrastructure, health, education, and other sectors in the past 10 years.

Underscoring the importance of green energy, the Chief Minister said the government’s thrust has been all along on clean and green energy and renewal energy. He said the State government desires that all industries, including the Tata semiconductor plant at Jagiroad, coming up in Assam draw their energy from green power sources.

Describing Assam as one of the strongest growth engines of the country, growing at a rate of 12.5%, Mr. Sarma sought to project his State’s economy as strong and robust.

He said that said besides the economy, the State has also emerged a major educational hub with reputed institutions, including AIIMS, the Indian Institute of Technology, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, several State and Central universities, agriculture university, and upcoming projects like National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology university campus.

“Assam has the requisite skill and ability to deliver. It has the wherewithal to ensure that those willing to invest get similar incentives as offered by any other State of the country,” he said, adding that the government would create a corpus fund for production linked incentive to the tune of ₹25,000 crore.