Assam: More Than Rs 3.68 Crore Spent on Cabinet Meetings, Says Minister Ranjit Dass

GUWAHATI: According to Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass on March 14, the Assam government has spent more than Rs 3.68 crore holding Cabinet sessions across nine districts since September 2021.

Ranjeet Kumar Dass stated that the largest expense, Rs 1,13,92,399, was incurred for a cabinet meeting conducted at Haflong in the Dima Hasao district.

The General Administration Department minister responded to a query from Congress lawmaker Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha in the Assembly by providing details on the cost incurred for hosting the Cabinet meetings in these nine districts.

Some of these meetings cost Rs 55,54,034, Rs 48,42,173, and Rs 35,15,912 in Bongaigaon, Jorhat, and Dibrugarh, respectively.

In the Kamrup Metropolitan area, which includes the state capital Dispur, a Cabinet meeting costs Rs 21,79,129. According to information provided by Dass, the state exchequer spent a total of Rs 3,68,30,116.

However, the minister did not state how many Cabinet meetings the money was used for. In response to Purkayastha's inquiry regarding the progress of the decisions made at these meetings, the minister stated that his department does not have the information in terms of numbers because the decisions are related to several departments.

Since September 2021, the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led administration has held sporadic Cabinet sessions in several districts.

According to sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his cabinet, on 7 March. Yet, there was no media briefing on the meeting's events.

"A rare honor for my Cabinet colleagues to have received an opportunity to get blessings and margdarshan from Hon PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, today in Guwahati," Mr. Sarma tweeted afterwards.

The encounter, which took place at this location's Koinadhora state guest house, reportedly lasted close to two hours.

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