• Assam government asks Centre to release funds for Covid-19

    Regional
    Assam government asks Centre to release funds for Covid-19
    Digital Desk: Assam government has a lookout for the Centre's support and asks to release funds for the State to cope with the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

    In this regard, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday stated, "I visited with Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya here and requested that he release some unpaid dues to combat the Covid-19 outbreak. I also talked with him about the possibility of reviving the Namrup Fertilizer Plant."

    In 2021, the central government announced that it would present the Northeastern States a funding package worth Rs 1,353 crore to fight the pandemic. 

    Out of this package, Assam was supposed to receive Rs 812.46 crore, Arunachal Pradesh Rs 141.94 crore, Tripura Rs 93.02 crore, Meghalaya Rs 91.94 crore, Manipur Rs 85.95 crore, Nagaland Rs 62.46 crore, Mizoram Rs 44.30 crore, and Sikkim Rs 21.85 crore.

    Chief Minister Sarma was scheduled to meet with Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Monday to finalize the deal to manage the boundary conflict with Meghalaya. Nevertheless, the discussion with Shah was delayed since he was preoccupied with the ongoing Parliament session and a scheduled event in Hyderabad.

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    "Today, I met minister of coal and mines, Prahlad Joshi, and discussed various matters. I discussed issues related to North Eastern Coalfields at Margherita in Tinsukia as well as ways to ramp up coal production in the State," said CM Sarma before leaving for Guwahati on Tuesday.

    During the day, Assam CM even met food and public distribution secretary Sudhangshu Pandey and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) chairman and discussed issues related to rice procurement through FCI.

    It may be noted that the discussion between Amit Shah and Sarma was necessary following the point that the duo and Meghalaya Chief Minister met in Delhi last month to discover an enduring resolution to the frontier skirmish between the two States.