Sarbananda Sonowal Seeks Rs. 1,800 Crore For Revival Of Assam Paper Mills

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday urged the Centre to release Rs. 1,800 crore for revival of two paper mills in the state and early finalisation of a new industrial policy for the Northeast.

During his meeting with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Mr Sonowal requested him to release Rs. 1,800 crore so that the two paper mills of the Hindustan Paper Corporation, Nagaon paper mill and Cachar paper mill, could be opened at the earliest.

"I have told the finance minister that lives of two lakh bamboo farmers are involved with the future of the two paper mills in Assam. He assured me to consider the request sympathetically," Sonowal told PTI.

The chief minister also had a meeting with Nripendra Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, and discussed with him about the early finalisation of a new industrial policy on lines of the now-defunct North East Industrial Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP) for maximising the growth potential of the state.

Mr Sonowal and Mr Mishra also discussed the large-scale devastation caused by the recent wave of floods in Assam, a state government release said.

The chief minister also requested Mr Mishra to expedite the constitution of a high level committee to find a lasting solution to the perennial flood problem in Assam.