Assam govt to move court against Union govt to restore special category status: Gogoi

Addressing a press conference held at Guwahati, Gogoi said: "We had demanded many occassions to restore special category status, but the union government did not have taken further steps."

“So we have decided to move to the court for our rights,” Gogoi said.

Gogoi further said that in the 2016-17 financial year budget Assam has been allocated Rs 18938 crore as share in central taxes against Rs 22131 crore which was recommended by the 14th Finance Commission and resulting in a loss of Rs 3193 crore.

“I had raised a number of important issues in a letter to FM Jaitley that included restoration of Special Category Status and NEIIP, special packages for flood and erosion, development of MSME sector, setting up of Brahmaputra Valley River Basin Authority, special packages for development councils, tea tribes and ex-tea tribes and protection of one-horned Rhino. But everything fell on deaf ears,” Gogoi said.

The Assam CM said that the Budget has nothing for the flood and erosion problem of Assam.

“Though the State has been plagued with this alarming erosion problem and has so far lost permanently 4.27 lakh hectare, the Central Government has announced nothing for the State,” Gogoi said.

The Assam CM said the Budget has not fully restored the earlier funding pattern to 90:10 despite stiff protests from the North Eastern States.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)