Dibrugarh: Assam is planning district-level land banks to support industrial investment, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday.Addressing the media at the convention centre in Jorhat after a two-day conference of district commissioners, Sarma said investments were beginning to flow into the state. Still, adequate land was not readily available for industrial projects.“States like Gujarat and Maharashtra maintain land banks of around 7,00,000 bighas. In contrast, Assam doesn’t even have 10,000 bighas reserved,” Sarma said, stressing the need for adequate land reserves to facilitate industrialisation.He said the issue was discussed at the conference and the govt was examining ways to establish district-level land banks.Sarma announced an infrastructure push under the ‘Viksit Assam 2047’ initiative, with around Rs 50,000 crore proposed for schools, colleges, universities, Anganwadi centres, power lines, stadiums and govt infrastructure.He acknowledged that Assam’s secondary school dropout rate remained high and said measures to address it had been discussed. The govt reviewed the health sector, including the goal of a tuberculosis-free India, new medical colleges and the phased upgrading of 4,000 sub-centres into hospitals, as announced in the budget.On the floods, Sarma said plans were being prepared to reconstruct damaged embankments. He said the first survey for rehabilitation grants was completed and a second would be conducted to finalise the list before Oct 10.On urbanisation, he said the loss of natural wetlands had contributed to waterlogging in Jorhat and Guwahati.“Urbanisation has reduced natural wetlands, leading to waterlogging issues,” he said, adding that drainage planning was under way.Sarma announced plans for govt-run substance-abuse rehabilitation centres in every assembly constituency, while private facilities would face stricter regulation.
