Assam Budget: NDA hails as growth-oriented; oppn claims no new announcements

Guwahati, Jul 10 (PTI) The BJP-led NDA partners on Friday welcomed the Assam Budget 2026-27 as a forward-looking one with a roadmap for the state's development, while the opposition parties claimed that it lacked any new schemes and heavily relied on loans. Finance Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah presented a Rs 2,85,084 crore Budget for the 2026-27 financial year, and proposed to raise the tax exemption limit for small tea growers by four times and cut VAT on piped natural gas by almost 10 percentage points. He also announced to continue all the major schemes rolled out during the last five years, but said persons practising polygamy will not be eligible for any benefits and government staff found guilty of the practice will face dismissal. State BJP president Dilip Saikia termed the budget as "visionary, transformative and all-encompassing roadmap" and structured to fulfil the electoral commitments made by the party. He said the state has registered an increase in per capita income and heralds a new chapter in employment generation by setting a target of providing two lakh jobs. Saikia lauded the proposals made for connectivity, power, health, revenue, tourism, agriculture and education sectors, among others. Cabinet Minister and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) president Atul Bora welcomed the budget as a reflection of long-term development for the state. He maintained that all core sectors, like infrastructure, employment generation, health, education and social security, have been addressed in it. "This budget will further strengthen the developmental outlook of the BJP-led NDA government and accelerate inclusive growth in the state," Bora added. However, opposition parties criticised the budget as holding no new assurance for the public. Congress' deputy leader in the Assembly Joy Prakash Das said, "We were hoping for a good budget. But this has nothing new. The government has said about giving two lakh jobs, but there is no mention of how many new jobs will be created." He also claimed that all infrastructure development was Guwahati-centric, and the bare minimum was given for other parts. Das further said that though tourism remains a high revenue-earning sector, there was no mention of specific schemes for the important spots like Kaziranga, Majuli or Manas. "All are old announcements repeated in the budget, with the government trying to hoodwink the people," the Congress leader claimed. Raijor Dal chief and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the government has become heavily dependent on loans and about 20 per cent of revenue receipts were shown through loans in this budget. "This is my seventh budget as an MLA, and I have to say that this is the most ineffective one. There are mostly beneficiary schemes, with nothing for development of the people. The only developmental projects proposed involve land acquisition and evictions," he claimed. He also criticised the government for mentioning Central government projects in the budget, accusing it of trying to pass off these as its own. Trinamool Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed, while thanking the government for a biomass gas project in his constituency, maintained that the budget lacked overall inclusive developmental proposals. He said the education sector, erosion and rehabilitation of erosion-hit people are among issues not adequately mentioned in the budget. Ahmed also questioned the proposal of surveying 'char' areas (riverine areas) and allocating it to the tribal population, whereas Muslims have been living in these areas for generations. PTI SSG SSG RG