Mumbai, Sept. 2 -- The Assam cabinet approved a Rs 500 billion (Rs 500 bn) allocation under the Viksit Assam: Infra Vision initiative announced by the chief minister. The plan allocates Rs 200 bn from state revenue and Rs 300 bn to be financed through a memorandum with NABARD over seven years. The cabinet authorised the MoU and set implementation priorities for key development and infrastructure works across the state.

Cabinet approval was given for a Proton Beam Therapy centre in Guwahati under the Assam State Secondary Healthcare Initiative for Service Delivery Transformation (ASSIST) to be implemented by the Assam Health Infrastructure Development and Management Society at an estimated cost of Rs 6 billion (Rs 6 bn). The World Bank will provide a loan of Rs 3.15 bn and the state will fund Rs 2.85 bn for the therapy machine. The facility is planned as the first publicly funded proton beam therapy centre in the country.

Members approved an integrated 30 Megawatt (MW) solar project with a 25 MW 100 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at Rakhyasini Jungle in Goalpara and cleared allotment of 1,174 bigha in Kamrup metropolitan and Nagaon for industrial estates and land banks. A 27 bigha site in Rangajan Gaon, Dhemaji, was allotted for a milk project and the cabinet extended a one?time valuation window for tea gardens to fix stamp duty and registration fees. Sanction of Rs 1.099957 billion (Rs 1.099957 bn) was approved for infrastructure works at Gauhati University.

The cabinet abolished the retail selling licence for petroleum products to improve the ease of doing business and set subsidised rates of Rs 70 per kg for masur dal and Rs 35 per kg for sugar for ration card holders. Administrative approval of Rs 1.559819 billion (Rs 1.559819 bn) was granted for a rail overbridge near Hawaipur and associated bypass works, and registered vehicle scrapping facilities were included under the industrial policy. The government cleared a Rs 3 billion project by Fermbox Bio at Tezpur and announced beneficiary payments and conference dates with emphasis on drug trafficking routes.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.