“Not a single rupee for flood mitigation or MSMEs”: Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi slams Assam budget

Guwahati (Assam) [India], July 12 (ANI): Following the presentation of the state budget, Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi launched a scathing attack on the Assam government, describing the financial blueprint as a "summary statement" that pushes the state deeper into debt rather than fostering actual development.
Speaking to ANI on the newly presented budget, Gogoi alleged that the state's total liabilities have now surpassed its total budget allocation, signalling a worrying fiscal position.
"The old budget has been expanded to a new level. Today, the government's budget statement was given; it was a summary statement. It states that today's total liability loan is Rs 1,96,000 [crore]. This means that our liabilities are more than our budget," the Raijor Dal legislator said.
Criticising the government over its policy priorities, Gogoi pointed out critical omissions in the budget, particularly regarding the long-standing issues of natural disasters and rural employment generation in the state.
"The biggest problem in Assam is the flood and erosion zone. Not even a single rupee has been allocated in the budget to address this problem," Gogoi claimed.
He further flagged the lack of financial support for local businesses and rural industrialisation, stating, "Small industries are to be built. Not even a single rupee is allocated for this. Not even a single rupee has been spent on making MSMEs in every village."
Terming the budget counterproductive to economic growth and human resource development, the MLA added, "This Assam Budget is not a budget of development; this is a budget to make the people of Assam non-professional, to make people more lazy."
Meanwhile, Assam Finance Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah on Friday presented the State's Budget for 2026-27 in the Legislative Assembly.
"Over the last decade, Assam has moved from instability to peace, from neglect to national priority, and from uncertainty to decisive development. In this renewed term, our Government will build upon this strong foundation to make Assam a leading contributor to the vision of Viksit Bharat and Viksit Assam," he said.
The Assam Finance Minister emphasised that the objective is to build a knowledge-driven Assam which progresses from hills and valleys to tea gardens."Our objective is to build a productive, inclusive and knowledge-driven Assam -- an Assam that moves from flood vulnerability to climate resilience, from subsistence agriculture to high-value production, from conventional livelihoods to new opportunities in industry, entrepreneurship and the digital economy, and where every region, from the Brahmaputra Valley to the Barak Valley, from the hills to the tea gardens, has an equal stake in progress," he said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in a X post, said that the State government aims to empower farmers with schemes and policies with special support for paddy, maize, and mustard procurement.
"We will continue to empower our farmers with schemes and policies that aid in boosting their income. Special support for Paddy, maize and mustard procurement, dairy subsidy and assistance to pregnant tea garden workers will be continued and expanded," he said. (ANI)