The Telegraph

The BJP-led Assam government has doled out a bouquet of sops in its 2019-20 budget, purportedly with an eye on the general elections ahead.

While presenting a Rs 1,193.04 crore deficit budget, finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made an extra effort to woo tea tribes, which constitute about 17 per cent of the state’s population and can swing the electoral fortunes in Upper Assam districts.

“We will provide rice, currently provided at Rs 3 per kg under the National Food Security Act, free of cost to four lakh families in the tea garden areas, covering 20 lakh beneficiaries. A pilot implementation of this will begin from March 2019,” Sarma said, adding, “We plan to provide 2kg sugar per tea garden family per month free of cost.”

The government also plans to provide rice at Rs 1 per kg, instead of Rs 3 per kg, to 57 lakh households in the state under the NFSA.

Skill training will be provided to 10,000 tea tribe youths so that they can set up small businesses for which they will be provided a one-time grant of Rs 25,000.

Moreover, 500 girls from the tea tribe community will be inducted in the auxiliary nurse midwifery and general nursing and midwifery training programmes on a monthly stipend.

Sarma also announced free medicines, on the essential drugs list, for 300 tea garden hospitals; breakfast, evening tea and free uniforms in addition to midday meals for school students of tea gardens; Rs 10,000 per year to every matric-pass student (from the tea tribes) for pursuing higher education; battery-operated “e-bikes” for girl students who secure 1st division or above in higher secondary exams; free admission and textbooks upto degree-level for students from families earning less than Rs 2 lakh per annum and scholarship scheme for girls from minority communities.

One tola (11.33gm) gold will be given to brides belonging to families earning less than Rs 5 lakh per annum at the time of wedding. Woman, upto the age of 45 years, who get widowed, will get a one-time payment of Rs 25,000.

The second tranche of Rs 2,500 under Chah Bagicha Dhan Puraskar Mela will be released on February 15.

A new district will be created from Dima Hasao district.

The Atal Amrit Abhiyan scheme will be expanded to include treatment in ICU, trauma, paediatrics and paediatric surgery and bone marrow transplants. Sarma also announced a Rs 5-crore relief fund for boatmen and restaurants affected by Dhola-Sadiya and Bogibeel bridges.