Ahead of BTC polls, CM Sarma sets August 15 deadline for welfare rollout in BTR
With the Model Code of Conduct expected to come into force by mid-August, CM underlined the urgency
Sarma shares an emotional moment with an elderly woman during his Kokrajhar visit. (Photo:@himantabiswa/X)
Kokrajhar, July 7: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has set August 15 as the deadline to complete the rollout of all welfare schemes in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), in view of the upcoming Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections slated for September.
With the Model Code of Conduct expected to come into force by mid-August, the Chief Minister underlined the urgency of completing all scheme-related processes before it kicks in.
“We aim to complete implementation of all schemes by August 15,” Sarma said, on Monday.
He was speaking after a detailed review meeting at the Kokrajhar Deputy Commissioner’s office, part of his ongoing tour of BTC districts to assess the progress of key welfare initiatives.
Over the past few days, Sarma has visited Udalguri, Baksa, Tamulpur, and Kokrajhar, and will head to Chirang on July 9 to complete the review exercise.
Importantly, the Chief Minister said that the review meetings were inclusive, with participation from representatives of all political parties.
“We conduct these reviews in the presence of all political parties so that the benefits of these schemes reach the genuinely needy without political interference,” he said.
Among the highlights of his announcements was a major infrastructure push. Sarma revealed that under the Assam Mala project, over 350 km of roads will be constructed across BTR this year.
However, he admitted that budgetary constraints posed a challenge to meeting the widespread demand for roads.
“Everyone wants roads in their locality, but with our limited budget, that’s just not possible. There are bad roads everywhere — even Tamil Nadu, one of the wealthiest Indian states, has its share of poor roads,” Sarma remarked.
He also highlighted a unique challenge in road development in BTR — the classification of inhabited areas as forest land in government records.
“Often, what appears to be a village is actually recorded as forest land. That becomes another major hurdle for road construction in BTR,” he said.
The Chief Minister’s review meetings focused on five flagship welfare schemes, including Orunodoi, Mukhya Mantri Atmanirbhar Asom, and Eti Koli Duti Paat.
In Kokrajhar district alone, the number of Orunodoi beneficiaries has nearly doubled, from 60,000 to 1.4 lakh, he informed.
“We’ve added nearly 80,000 new beneficiaries in Kokrajhar. The selection is being done at the polling booth level to ensure the scheme reaches the right people,” he said.
Under the Atmanirbhar Asom scheme, nearly 3,000 youth from Kokrajhar will receive financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each, with the final beneficiary list almost complete.
Sarma reiterated that the aim is to wrap up the delivery of all welfare entitlements before the poll code restricts government actions during the election period.