Assam floods: Allocate Rs 1 lakh crore to control floods; Badruddin Ajmal to Sitharaman

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal demanded Rs 1 lakh crore for projects to control floods and erosion in Assam and Rs 5,000 crore for the Ministry of Minority Affairs for welfare schemes.

In a letter to the Union Finance Minister, Sitharaman said, “I am writing this letter to appreciate the fact that in your budget speech you have promised to provide assistance to Assam for flood management and related projects, but you have not mentioned any amount or package for the purpose. At this juncture, I would like to mention that Assam is the state that faces disastrous floods and erosion almost every year, which causes the deaths of people, erodes land and villages into rivers, damages properties and crops, and forces people to take shelter in temporary camps. This is a phenomenon that happens every year for people in Assam. This year also, floods and erosion caused disaster in almost 29 districts and affected about 25 lakh people. During the last 20 years, we have been trying to bring the pain of the people of Assam to the attention of the Government of India by raising the matter in Parliament and through writing letters time and again with the demand for a special package and fund to control floods and erosion in Assam and to find a permanent solution, but no serious initiative has been taken in this regard.

“Under these circumstances, I would like to request that you kindly allocate at least Rs 1 lakh crore for the execution of projects to control floods and erosion in Assam and for research to find a permanent solution. Otherwise, the state of Assam would never come out of backwardness and financial challenges.” 

Ajmal further said, “I would also like to state here that you have allocated Rs 3,183.24 crore for the Ministry of Minority Affairs for 2024–25, which is a meagre amount for minority communities as they are more than 20% of the total population in the country. Therefore, I request that you kindly allocate at least Rs 5,000 crore for the welfare of the minorities.”

 Also Read: Assam: Floods recede but thousands of people still unable to return home (sentinelassam.com)

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