Guwahati, Feb 20 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Barak Valley on March 14 and make several major announcements aimed at boosting connectivity and infrastructure in the region.
Addressing a gathering while attending the Vibrant Village Programme at Natanpur in Assam’s Cachar district, Sarma said the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for Assam’s first express highway connecting Guwahati with Panchgram.
The project will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 22,000 crore.
The Chief Minister said that once completed, the express highway will reduce the travel time between Guwahati and the Barak Valley to around four and a half hours, significantly improving road connectivity and economic integration between the two regions.
Sarma further stated that the people of Barak Valley have received the express highway without having to raise any demand, describing it as a reflection of the Centre’s commitment to Assam’s development.
He also announced that the long-pending East-West Corridor project is expected to be completed within the next month.
The Chief Minister also said that his government has freed more than 1.5 lakh bighas of land from encroachers and asserted that the BJP has set a target of clearing five lakh bighas of land from illegal encroachment in the next term.
“Our government has freed more than 1.5 lakh bighas of land from encroachers. In the next term, we have taken a resolve to free five lakh bighas of land from encroachers,” Sarma said, outlining the BJP-led government’s commitment to protecting Assam’s land and identity.
The Chief Minister said that illegal encroachment had posed a serious threat to Assam’s demographic balance and economic security for decades, but the present government had taken firm and decisive steps to address the issue.
He added that eviction drives were carried out strictly in accordance with the law and to restore land to rightful owners and public use.
–IANS
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