Guwahati, June 12: The Assam cabinet cleared an investment of Rs 5,000 crore for the generation of 1,000 MW of solar power in collaboration with Neyveli Lignite Corporation, a ‘Navratna’ company under the coal ministry.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, in his post-cabinet briefing, said this was to make the state self-sufficient in the energy sector. “A joint venture company with Neyveli Lignite Corporation will be floated to generate the 1000 MW solar power on government land. This will be the first such initiative among PSUs in the energy sector.”
“A 75 MW solar plant at Amguri was recently inaugurated, and a few other units with a total capacity of 100 MW in different parts of the state will be commissioned next month. But we want to go for large-scale solar power generation” he added.
Land settlement
Sarma also said over 1,000 proposals for settlement of the land, which were pending before the revenue department, were also cleared by the cabinet. “Some of these proposals were pending since 1992 and nearly 30 percent of the burden on the revenue department is settled. In the next cabinet meeting, we will take up the pending proposals submitted by NGOs,” he said.
Tea estate land
The cabinet also approved the use of unutilized land of tea estates, not more than 5% of its total area, for other activities such as growing trees, tea tourism, and setting up solar plants.
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Municipal Service Cadre
The cabinet nod a proposal for setting up an Assam Municipal Corporation Service cadre, from which the chief executive member, accounts officer, and engineer for the state’s civic bodies will be appointed. The state government will bear the salary burden of these three posts, which will be transferable throughout the state.
Bridges
The cabinet sanctioned Rs 383 crore for the construction of a 2.4-km-long bridge connecting Lakhimpur and Dhakuakhana over the Subansiri river and another Rs 247 crore for an 890-meter bridge over Pagladiya river which will provide a direct route for a commercial vehicle to Samdrup Jongkhar (Bhutan border) from Pathsala, Bongaigaon and Barpeta.
The cabinet sanctioned several beautification projects for Tezpur, the capital town of Sonitpur district, including a flyover with an estimated cost of Rs 474 crore in the heart of town, Sarma said.
