Assam's innovative schemes being adopted by other states: CM Himanta

Despite being a small state, Assam is showing the way to other states which are adopting various innovative schemes being implemented by the BJP-led government here, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.

Inaugurating three co-districts under Kamrup (Metropolitan) district here, the chief minister said that Assam is the first state to operationalise the concept of co-districts which will revolutionise governance at the grassroots level by taking administration to the doorsteps of the people.

"I am confident that other states of the country will also adopt this concept in the next four to five years though they will give different names to it," he said.

Earlier, Assam's administrative machinery was modelled on that of West Bengal and other developed states as the British governed the region as a single administrative unit but "now we have adopted several landmark schemes which are inspiring the other states", Sarma said.

He pointed out that schemes like Orundoi for women beneficiaries and the education department's Samarth portal have created interest among other states with several delegations coming to Assam to understand in detail, so that those can be adopted in their respective states.

"The co-districts will be centres of administration which will provide government services to the people in a hassle-free manner and strengthen the administrative framework," he said.

There are 35 districts in Assam currently and there has been regular demand of people for creation of more districts and sub-divisions, he said.

"With the delimitation exercise, there are 126 legislative constituencies in the state and we decided to set up an administrative unit in each constituency to provide services to the people so that they do not have to go to the district commissioner's office," the chief minister said.

People have to go to the district commissioners for various schemes, land related works, development related schemes, issues related to MLA and MP funds and various certificates, he pointed out.

"If powers are decentralised to the co-districts, it will not only save time for the people but also enable the district commissioners to concentrate on development works," Sarma added.

The co-districts have been given more powers than the existing subdivisions and will deal with land revenue matters, development works and welfare schemes, food and civil supplies, excise, panchayat and rural development and disaster management, he said.

Flood is a major problem in the state and the co-districts will have complete responsibility of dealing with flood relief, Sarma said.

The co-districts have been set up with the objective of timely access to essential government services by citizens, to improve efficiency bringing governance to the grassroots and streamlining citizen centric services.

There is a need for 78 co-districts but in the first phase, 39 have been rolled out while the remaining will be created in the second phase by January or February next year, Sarma said.

Out of the 39 co-districts, 21 were inaugurated on Friday and 18 on Saturday.

The chief minister further said that the state government has fulfilled all the promises made in the election manifesto and in some cases, it has gone beyond the poll promises.

"Declaration of Assamese as a classical language, UNESCO heritage site for Charaideo maidams and world record for Bihu dance are examples of going beyond the manifesto," he said.

"The BJP has taken full advantage of the double-engine government at the Centre and the state. We are doing work way beyond the manifesto and will continue to do so in the future," Sarma said.