Guwahati, Nov 7 (PTI) The state cabinet on Tuesday decided to release Rs 135 crore to Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF) for construction of 10 cancer hospitals, three in the first phase and seven in the second.
The meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, decided to release the amount for the first phase hospitals being built in Silchar, Guwahati and Diphu.
In the second phase, seven cancer hospitals will come up in Dhubri, Nalbari, Goalpara, Golaghat, Nagaon, Sivasagar and Tinsukia.
The projects on completion are expected to generate 8,000 jobs, Tourism Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah said at a media briefing after the meeting.
The council of ministers also decided to release Rs 133 crore under the 'Free Drugs and Consumables for Government Hospitals' including tea garden hospitals to provide effective healthcare support to the needy.
The cabinet also decided that the state government employees will receive four per cent additional Dearness Allowance (DA) with effect from December 1, he said.
The arrears effective from July 2023 to November 2023 will be paid in two equal instalments with the first in December and the second in April, 2024.
With this hike, the total DA of the state government employees now stands at 46 per cent, he said.
The cabinet said that from December 1, three eggs will be provided weekly with midday meals to eligible schoolchildren in the riverine areas under PM-POSHAN.
It was also decided to place English Language Teaching Institute (ELTI) under the administrative control of State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) to ensure optimum utilisation of resources.
The meeting also decided that the grants-in-aid to power companies in the state, totalling Rs 5435.80 crore prior to 2021-22 and Rs 1099 crore between 2021-22 and 2022-23, will be converted into equity as investment by the state government, the minister said.
It was also decided that Rs 318.98 crore grants-in-aid released to Guwahati Smart City Limited (GSCL) by the state government will be converted to investment for acquisition of assets as equity investment by the government, Baruah said.
The council of ministers also decided that the state government's loans/unpaid interest of Rs 60.22 crore of Assam Hills Small Industries (AHSIDC) Limited under the administrative control of Hill Areas Department will be converted to equity.
It was also decided that the state government's loans of Rs 33.36 crore to Assam Cooperative Jute Mills Limited (ACJML) and Rs 4.25 crore to Assam State Warehousing Corporation (ASWC) will be converted as equity investment for investment towards acquisition of assets, Barua added.
The cabinet also decided that land settlement of 2,538 indigenous landless families in the five districts of Morigaon, Bongaigaon, Goalpara, Dibrugarh and Sonitpur will be done in the second phase of Mission Basundhara, Barua said. PTI DG DG MNB
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