Guwahati: The Assam Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at Lok Sewa Bhawan on Thursday, approved a series of key decisions including the introduction of a bill to preserve Satra heritage, a hike in dearness allowance for government employees and pensioners, financial incentives for girl students, and major equity investment in a fertilizer project at Namrup.
The Cabinet approved the Assam Satra Preservation and Development Commission Bill, 2025, aimed at safeguarding the State’s revered Vaishnavite heritage institutions and promoting their cultural and economic potential.
Under the bill, a Commission will be constituted to protect Satra lands from encroachment and disputes, promote heritage tourism, and preserve Satriya art forms.
The Commission will also create a digital repository of Satra lands, artefacts, and manuscripts to ensure global accessibility and preservation.
The Commission will be headed by a retired High Court Judge as Chairperson, with the Director of Land Requisition, Acquisition and Reforms, Assam serving as Member Secretary.
It will also include two members representing Satra institutions nominated by the State Government, and one retired civil servant with experience in land administration.
The Cabinet also approved the revision of dearness allowance and dearness relief for serving state government employees, pensioners, and family pension holders, effective from July 1, 2025, as per the Assam Services (ROP) Rules, 2017.
In another major decision, the Cabinet sanctioned financial assistance under the Mukhya Mantri Nijut Moina Aasoni scheme, offering admission incentives to girl students enrolled in government and venture higher secondary institutions, as well as self-financed courses in government colleges.
A financial sanction of Rs. 1,251.25 crore has been approved for the Directorate of Secondary Education for 2025–26.
The government also cleared an equity investment of Rs. 1,272.09 crore in the Assam Valley Fertilizer and Chemical Company Ltd., a joint venture of the Assam government with OIL, NFL, HURL, and BVFCL, to be released over four years.
The first instalment of Rs. 4 lakh will be issued immediately, along with Rs. 22.74 crore as part of the current financial year’s budgeted allocation.
The project, to be implemented at Namrup within the premises of BVFCL, will set up a new Brownfield Ammonia-Urea Complex (Namrup IV) with a capacity of 12.7 lakh metric tonnes per annum.
The Rs. 10,601.40 crore investment is expected to significantly boost the State’s economy and generate employment for over 1,900 people.
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The chief minister also announced that the site where late singer Zubeen Garg’s last rites were performed will be developed into a permanent ‘samadhisthal’.
A committee has been formed for the purpose, comprising Garima Garg, Palmee Borthakur, Partha Sarathi Mahanta, Anuradha Sarma Pujari, Biren Singha, Pulak Banerjee, Tarali Sarma, Shyamantak Gautam, Pranjal Saikia, Dulal Manki, and Sudarshan Tahkur, who will serve as convenor.
To ensure justice in Zubeen Garg’s death case, the State government will write to the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court seeking the constitution of a fast-track court after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) submits its charge sheet.
A Special Public Prosecutor will also be appointed, on the recommendation of the Advocate General of Assam, to handle the case exclusively once the SIT completes its probe.
