 "Assam to undertake Rs 30,000 crore rural investment programme to double farm income")
Assam will soon undertake a massive five-year long rural investment programme of Rs 30,000 crore to double the income of agricultural farmers in the state. The programme is named as Chief Minister Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana (CMSGUY), the mission will start from the current financial year and culminate in the year 2021-22, coinciding with 75 years of India’s independence and is in unison with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to double agricultural income.
"It is proposed to induct massive investments in rural areas for complete rural empowerment in a period of five years in a focused and concerted manner to realise the dream of doubling the farm income," said state Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while laying the first budget of the BJP-led government in the state Assembly.
Sarma said it would otherwise take about 80 years to double the farm income in Assam at the current rate of growth. Normal interventions by the government in this regard would not be adequate to address the problem and hence the government would be undertaking this mega programme.
The objective of CMSGUY would be achieved through 'saturation model' by covering each revenue village through focused interventions through direct economic activities, logistic support including market linkages and community support.
Sarma said that Assam had never witnessed earlier such a “massive” and “mega” investment in a focussed manner. "Each village will get benefits such as tractor, cold-chain vehicle, milchcows, fish hatchery, etc as community asset with collective ownership. An all-weather road, high speed broadband connectivity and other logistics will also be provided from possible convergence from the existing sources like RIDF,” he said.
There are a total of 25,425 villages in Assam and each village would require an investment of Rs 1.20 crore in five years. Where Rs 500 crore has been allocated for this financial in the budget. The state government will also seek specific financial support from the central government for this mega mission.
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Sarma said: "There would be one ‘Mega-Mission’ and nine ‘Sub-missions’. Each Sub-mission will have independent targets and outcomes of which would be aggregated and converged into the overall ‘Mega-Mission’ targets. The concerned line departments would be involved in a project mode in each sub-mission. There will be a registered Society under the government of Assam. This Society would serve as an overarching entity leading the ‘Mega-Mission’."
He added: "The novel approach of the Mega Mission is that it taps the energy of rural youth and community. I propose to reach out to each of the youth clubs in 25,425 revenue villages in community mobilisation for development over a period of five year.”
Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Assam for the year 2014-15 was Rs 1,83,798 crore and per capita income of the state being Rs 48,490 per annum (current prices). Assam stands at 19th position in the country and is far lower than the national average of Rs 88,533 per capita per annum.
The growth of the economy during 2014-15 was 6.44 per cent compared to the national figure of 7.3 per cent.
Debt-GSDP ratio was 17.43 per cent and fiscal deficit as a percentage of GSDP was (-) 2.33 per cent, which are well within the parameters prescribed in the Assam Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2005.
The 2016-17 Assam budget had a deficit of Rs 2,880.91 crore.