During his first visit to the northeastern states since assuming office, Union Minister for Power, Housing, and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal held a meeting with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Both the leaders discussed issues of power, urban housing and water supply schemes.
Sarma urged the minister to take steps for rationalising gas prices to meet Assam’s rising power demand, which has exceeded 2500 MW at peak times.
He also said that there was increased demand for homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), noting that over 60 per cent of the sanctioned 1.7 lakh homes have already been delivered in the state.
Sarma shared ambitious plans for Guwahati, including achieving saturation in urban drinking water supply, developing the Guwahati River Front, and establishing a new satellite township near Guwahati based on G20 principles.
Additionally, the possibility of setting up a Centre of Excellence for Urban Planning in the state was discussed to enhance urban development and planning initiatives in Assam.
Yesterday, Mr Manohar Lal visited the Mahabahu Brahmaputra River Heritage Centre in Assam’s ‘s Panbazar.
He also had a power sector review meeting of Arunachal Pradesh in Itanagar.