Assam finance, health and PWD minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday launched ‘Mukhya Mantrir Krishi Sa-Sajuli Yojana’ for the farmers of Darrang district and announced a slew of new schemes will become effective from next month.
Sarma, while addressing a public meeting at Mangaldai Gandhi Maidan late in the afternoon here, announced that the BPL beneficiary families, who have been getting rice at Rs 3 per kilo under NFS Act will now get the same quantity of rice at Re 1 per kg.
Moreover, under a proposed new scheme called “Arundhuti”, each girl child going to get ready for wedding will be provided each with a gold of ten grams whereas in another new scheme for a widow, the government will provide an one-time financial grant of Rs 25,000 within one month of the demise of the woman’s husband.
In his speech without assigning any reason, Sarma targeted the media and said that he doesn’t want to come in newspaper headlines and at the same time criticised the AASU and former Assam CM Tarun Gogoi for having too much of interests to come in newspaper headlines.
“I don’t want to become newspaper headlines. Let AASU and Tarun Gogoi become newspaper headlines! I want my place in the hearts of the poor farmers and mothers of my state,” minister Sarma said.
He also spoke on the history of the launching of the farmers’ welfare scheme on January 28, the day of celebration of the ‘Krishak Swahid’ and termed it to be a honour for the peasant martyrs of the historic peasants’ uprising of Pathorughat.
Sarma in presence of several distinguished guests including minister Pallab Lochan Das, Mangaldai MP Ramen Deka, legislators Gurujyoti Das and Binanda Saikia and deputy commissioner Ghanashyam Dass, ceremonially distributed cheques of financial assistance for Rs 5000 among 13 beneficiary farmers out of the total 15,384 beneficiaries of the district .
Earlier, Sarma arrived at Mangaldai by a chopper directly from Rangapara and in the evening left for Guwahati by road.