For the material and moral advancement of the poorer persons, Co-operation, by combining with one another, has a definite role to play.

" The basis of association is (a) Voluntary, and (b) democratic ; Voluntary because those who enter it  will be men of modest status, feel a real need,and if only the honest are admitted, will not resent equality, but will in fact meet easily on an equal footing."

Some of the fields where Co-operative principle has a definite role to play in the economy of Assam includes farm credit, agricultural fields including irrigation facilities, animal husbandry and supplementary occupations, consumer�s Co-operation and other multipurpose services.

Assam, being a backward state in India, is lagging behind many other states in respect of its economic development. The economy of the state is mostly dependent on agriculture. This agricultural sector of Assam required various facilities like credit, irrigation, consolidation of holdings, marketing, supplementary occupation by developing cottage and small industries and consumers Co-operation etc. which can be met effectively with the spread of the net-work of Co-operation in these above-mentioned fields.

The Co-operative movement in Assam made its beginning with the passing of the Co-operative Societies Act, 1904. But the movement has never had a smooth sailing during its fifty years of working till 1951. There were series of setbacks particularly since the depressions of the thirties and the entire movement was on the very decay when the country achieved her political independence.

In Assam, the first batch of 12 Co-operative Societies, started some nearly eighty years ago, were agricultural credit societies. The economy of Assam was totally rural. Thus the major agricultural sector was composed of production where the tempo of agricultural development was to a considerable extent dependent on the development of agricultural Co-operative as a mode of organisation. With a view to assist successful implementation of the Agricultural production programme, the Co-operative have been functioning as an agency to provide rural credit and facilities for marketing, processing, distribution and storage of agricultural products. Further, the setting up of a chain of consumer Co-operatives and other miscellaneous types of Co-operatives have also been encouraged. But the movement in Assam has passed through various difficulties at different times and before the First Plan period, the societies were, for the most part, in a moribund condition, with a few exception here and there. Therfore, the efforts were mainly concentrated during the First Plan period to revitalise the Co-operative movement.

The introduction of national economic planning in 1951 brought about a fresh promise for the Co-operative movement in Assam. An expenditure of Rs. 20.00 lakhs was incurred out of the plan funds. In addition, an amount of Rs. 66.48 lakhs was also received from the Reserve Bank of India. A Co-operative training institute was founded in the year 1953 at Joysagar in the Sibsagar district for training of office bearers of the Co-operative socities as well as subordinate officers of the Co-operative department. A Co-operative cotton ginning mill was set up at Phulbari in the Garo Hills district for processing of cotton. Co-operative enterprise in the backward areas were further encouraged by giving interest free loans to the members of the Co-operative societies. During this First Plan period, the number of Co-operative societies rose from 2929 to about 4202 and the number of members from 287 thousand to 325 thousand. The working capital of Co-operative societies rose from Rs. 196 lakhs to Rs. 468 lakhs which can be seen from the following table :

Table No. 7.1

*Includes Meghalya and Mizoram

Source : Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Assam

During the Second Plan period an allocation of Rs. 125.40 lakhs was made for the development of Co-operative movement in the state. Against this Rs. 169.47 lakhs was incurred. Total number of Co-operative societies in Assam increased to 8894 in 1960-61 which was more than double than the number at the start of the plan. Total membership also has increased to 511 thousand. Total working capital also rose nearly four times to Rs. 1602 lakhs of which Rs. 232 lakhs was realised out to share capital during this period. A sum of Rs. 27 lakhs was also incurred in the establishment of a Co-operative sugar mill. On the basis of village communities 3,361 service Co-operatives have been formed till the end of the Second Plan. Besides one state union Co-operative,37 credit unions were formed in the hill districts. One cotton ginning mill in the Mikir Hills, and one Co-operative rice Mill in Darrang were also established. In different parts of the state, 200 large sized Co-operative, 111 primary marketing societies and 181 godowns were established. A Jute Bailing Society was formed in Nagaon. The Central Co-operative Land Mortgage Bank Ltd., and the Assam Co-operative Apex Marketing society started functioning. The Assam State Warehousing corporation had been established. The Co-operative Sugar Mill at Baruabamoongaon went into production during 1958-59. The State Trading of Paddy has been taken up through Co-operative since 1959 and the Assam Co-operative Apex Marketing Society was given a license for monopoly procurement of paddy. Thus it is revealed that while the aim of the First Five Year Plan was rather modest being confined to rehabilitation of shattered credit structure, but it was during the Second Plan period when a systematic development of the Co-operative sector was seriously attempted at. As recommended by the Rural Credit survey committee of the Reserve Bank of India, the state plan programme on Co-operation represented four district features, viz ; (a) state participation at different levels of Co-operative movement, (b) integration of different branches of Co-operative society through organisation of multi-purpose societies. Further, in pursuance of the National Development council�s policy decision, 1958, the state Co-operative movement underwent a further reorientation according to which emphasis was shifted from viability to close contact, social cohesion and mutual obligation among the members.

During the Third Plan period, a fresh move for rationalsation of credit structure was initiated, the key stone of the drive being amalgamation of the weak and uneconomic units with the strong and viable ones wherever possible, and liquidation of the dormant societies. Due to this effort, the number of agricultural credit societies came down from 5,225 in 1960-61 to 4,008 in 1965-66. During this period, the crop loan system of credit was introduced in the areas of operation of the revitalised Cachar, Nowgong and Tezpur Central Co-operative Banks.

Total number of Co-operative societies in Assam decreased to 7,693 in 1965-66 due to the policy followed for the amalgamation of weak and uneconomic units with viable ones. But the number of membership has increased to 593 thousands. The working capital and the share capital of these societies also increased to Rs. 2493 lakh respectively.

In 1970-71, total number of Co-operative societies in the State were 6,710 and the membership and working capital of these societies were around 6,710 and the membership and working capital of these societies were around 686 thousand and Rs. 5518 lakh respectively. At the end of the three Ad-hoc plans in 1968-69, total number of agricultural credit societies in Assam was 3,764 with 386 thousand members and working capital worth Rs. 64,277 thousand. These societies advanced loans to the extent of Rs. 28,660 thousands.

In the Fourth Five Year Plan of Assam, increased reliance had been placed on stabilisation and consolidation of the Co-operative credit structure. On the non-credit side, the state plan laid much importance on further expansion and diversification of the movement. The non-credit side included establishment of two sugar mills, a Jute Mill, and a number of fruit and vegetable processing units, rice and oil mills, dal mills, Jute bailing units and cold storage plants. In the year 1973-74 i.e., at the end of the Fourth Plan , the total number of Co-operative in Assam has increased to 7910 and the total membership recorded a significant increase of 799 thousand. Total working capital also rose to Rs. 6928 lakh.

The Fifth Plan had laid special emphasis on enlargement, consolidation and strengthening of Co-operative at all levels. At the end of the Fifth Five Year Plan i.e., at the end of March, 1978 total number of Co-operative societies has increased to 8112 and number of membership also increased manifold to 2972 thousand. Total working capital also reached at a high level of Rs. 12.961 lakh.

Then again there was a decline in the number of societies which reached the level of 7356 in 1980-81. And there was a slag in the increase of the number of membership which reached slowly the level of 3140 thousands. But the working capital of the societies suddenly increased to Rs. 16,357 lakhs in 1980-81.

During 1979-80, the State had 3148 credit societies as against 3442 in 1978-79, the number of non-credit societies during 1979-80 stood at 4372 as against 4512 in 1978-79.

In 1985-86, i.e., after the completion of the Sixth Plan, total number of Co-operative societies increased to 9285 and the number of membership also increased to 3500 thousands. The working capital of the society increased to Rs. 22,590 lakhs and the share capital rose to Rs. 3289 lakhs. In 1990-91, i.e., after the completion of the Seventh Plan, total number of Co-operative societies again declined to 7396 due to amalgamation weak and uneconomic units and the total membership has also declined to 2918 thousands. But the working capital of these societies increased considerably to Rs. 42857 lakhs and their share capital also rose to Rs. 4942 lakhs.

Again the total number of society which was 7612 in 1991-92 has increased considerably to 9416 in 1993-94(P). In 1993-94, total membership of these societies has also increased to 3023 thousands. Total working capital and share capital of these societies increased to Rs. 43,426 lakhs and Rs.4900 lakhs respectively.

The following table shows different types of credit societies and non-credit societies existing in Assam.

Table No.7.2

The above table reveals a clear picture about the various types of credit and non-credit societies existing since 1980-81. Total number of credit societies in Assam which was 3166 in 1980-81, gradually declined to 2740 in 1990-91 and there to 2,690 in 1994-95 (P). Total number of Non-credit societies in Assam which were 4200 in 1980-81,gradually declined to 3,387 in 1990-91 and then it started to increase to 6730 in 1993-94 and then increased considerably to 6851 in 1994-95. This sudden increase in the number of non-credit societies in 1993-94 is mostly resulted from inclusion of 2486 womens� co-operative in this year.

Thus it is revealed that the Co-operative movement in Assam has been gradually strengthened during the last 44 years since the introduction of planning in 1951.

Co-operative Movement is very much important particularly in a backward state like Assam where rural upliftment is of utmost necessicity. Co-operative can provide new vitality to economic development in a backward state like Assam. But it is very much unfortunate that the growth of Co-operative movement in Assam is neither well planed nor well-organsied. To have a better understanding it is necessary to study the structural pattern of Co-operative movement in Assam. The structure of Co-operative movement in Assam can be analysed as follows :

As per the prevailing structure of Co-operative bodies in India, the Co-operative Societies in Assam may broadly be divided into credit and non-credit societies. These credit societies offer credit to farmers at a comparatively cheaper rate of interest. Further, non-credit societies in Assam are consisting of farming societies, weaving societies, fisherman�s societies, marketing societies, warehousing societies, etc. The rural people of Assam are getting useful services from the non-credit societies in the line of organisation and improvement of their economic conditions. During 1994-95, the State had 2690 credit societies and 6708 non-credit societies. The non-credit Co-operative societies in Assam cover a wide range of activities like marketing, processing, storage, distribution, farming etc. Besides, there are some primary housing societies, contract and construction societies and forest societies which are gradually developing in the State.

Agricultural and non-agricultural societies

Co-operative societies in Assam are again divided into agricultural Co-operative or rural Co-operative and non-agricultural or urban Co-operative societies. In Assam, most of the societies are agricultural Co-operative credit societies and they play vital role in the rural economy of the State. These societies provide credit requirements of agricultural sector substantially at a cheaper rate of interest. Moreover, in recent years, a good number of non-agricultural societies are also operating in different spheres of non-agricultural activities.

Similar to other states, in Assam is the Assam Co-operative Apex Bank at the top of the system. The District Central Co-operative Bank has been merged with the Co-operative Apex Bank of the State and are working as its branches. In 1994-95, there were one Central Co-operative Bank, 21 primary Land (Development) Mortgage Bank, one Central Land Mortgage (Development) Bank, 1906 Primary Agricultural credit societies and 748 Primary Non-agricultural credit societies which has been rendering valuable services to the economy of the State. In1990-91, total amount of loan advanced by different agencies were as follows : Co-operative Apex Bank Rs. 75.36 crores ; Central Co-operative Bank Rs. 15.35 ; Central Land Development Bank Rs. 48.05 Lakhs ; Primary Land Development Bank Rs. 9.43 Crores ; Primary Agricultural credit Societies Rs. 1.62 crores.

Further, the State Government participates in the share Capital of the Central Co-operative Bank. The activities of Central Co-operative Bank are supervised and Co-ordinated by the State Co-operative Bank besides providing loans and grants to carry on their credit operations. The Assam Co-operative Apex Bank grants loans and advances for the purposes of seasonal agricultural credit as well as for marketing of crops. The Apex Bank can borrow from Reserve Bank of India in time of its necessity. On the other hand, the Land Mortgage Bank is an important agency for granting long term credit facilities for purposes of development and expansion of irrigation, conservation and reclamation of land, i.e., for the permanent improvement of lands and agriculture. Besides this long term and short term credit, the Land Mortgage Bank promote marketing of crops and also render assistance to promote small and cottage industries in different corners of Assam. Thus by serving specially in the rural areas, Banks are contributing enormously for the growth and development of the economy of Assam.

Feature of Co-operative Movement in Assam

Co-operative movement of Assam has maintained some of its specific features.

As majority of the population in Assam lives in villages, it is quite natural that the Co-operative movement in Assam should spread its net-work mostly in rural areas for the general upliftment of the rural economy of the state. So the movement in the state is progressing in the right direction.

Agriculture is the main industry of the State. So it is quite natural that the Co-operative movement has been concentrated mainly in Agriculture. For a long time, the movement built up rural credit organisations in the state. These societies are providing credit to the poor and marginal farmers. This has helped the poor farmers to free themselves to a considerable extent from the clutches of the unscrupulous village money lenders besides enabling them to obtain funds for the improvement of agriculture.

A good number of Co-operative societies in Assam is credit oriented. During 1994-95, there were 2,690 credit societies in Assam as against the total number of 9,391 societies. The credit societies has partially solved the problem of obtaining finance for rural economic transformation in general and improvement of agriculture of the state in particular. Then credit societies are also providing credit to small and cottage industries and other non-agricultural occupations and thus helping in the gradual diversification of the rural economy of the State. 

There has been a steady growth in the number of non-credit Co-operatives in the State. Most of these non-credit societies are operating in the rural areas leaving a few which are operating in the Urban Centres. In 1994-95, there were 6851 non-credit societies which were rendering valuable services to the economy of the state particularly to the farmers and poor rural artisans. These non-credit societies in Assam provide marketing societies, supply raw-materials and other inputs at fair prices to the agriculturists and rural artisans.

Thus Co-operative societies in Assam are playing a very effective role in the rural economic transformation of the State and the State Government has rendered very useful services towards the growth and development of various types of Co-operative societies in the state.

Since its inception, the Co-operative movement in Assam was suffering from some major weaknesses. Thus the movement could not gather its momentum and failed to provide necessary help and assistance to the poor farmers, artisans and craftsman. The main weaknesses are as follows :

Firstly, the Co-operative movement in Assam is lacking its spontaneous growth. The Co-operative societies in Assam are not growing in its size and importance at an expected rate. Rather many societies are dying before taking a good shape of its own.

Secondly, Colossal ignorance and illiteracy of the rural people of Assam is standing on the way of the movement. Most of rural poor are illiterate, ignorant and conservative. They feel the need and importance of the movement but they are indifferent to the growth of the movement.

Thirdly, inadequate financial resources of the Co-operative societies in Assam is one of the major weakness of the Co-operative movement of the state. Only 25 percent of the rural credit is provided by Co-operatives of the state. Naturally poor farmers and artisans have to depend on other sources, mainly on money-lenders who are charging heavy interests on loans offered by them.

Fourthly, banking facilities in the rural areas of the State are very inadequate and thus it retards the progress of Co-operative movement in Assam.

Fifthly, there is lack of whole-hearted effort on the part of government official of the State which always goes against the interest of the movement.

Sixthly, there is lack of efficiency on the part of management personnel of the Co-operative societies in Assam. This inefficiency leads to mismanagement of the societies resulting a huge loss on some occasions.

Seventhly, the movement of the State is much depending on external source of finance which restrict the independent operation of the movement in the State.

Eighthly, there is lack of trained and efficient personnels to run these societies in the State resulting in a huge loss of man power and economic resources involved in this movement.

Lastly, there is opposition from the vested interest group which results in serious hurdles in the progress of the movement.

Further, failure of the farmers to repay loans and lack of Co-ordination among the societies are some other weaknesses which always go against this movement.

Co-operative movement in Assam has not been able to make much headway although being an old movement. The weaknesses of the movement are responsible for it. Following remedial measures are to be adopted to revitalise the Co-operative movement in Assam.

Firstly, to make it a people�s movement, people in general need to be educated both in general and Co-operative lines. This will make them understand the structure and benefits of the Co-operative movement.

Secondly, the societies should be allowed to grow as a voluntary organisation to make the spirit of the movement spontaneous.

Thirdly, Financial position of all the Co-operative societies must be improved to accelerate the growth of the movement. The State Government must play its specific role in this regard. To provide adequate financial assistance to the Co-operative institutions, both the Reserve Bank of India, the State and Union Government, have adopted a series of measures in recent years.

Fourthly, to revitalise the Co-operative movement, proper training should be given to the Co-operative personnel. Thus, determined efforts have to be made to impart proper training both in Co-operative management and accounting procedure so as to ensure efficient management and proper accounting procedure of the Co-operative institutions of the State.

Fifthly, non-credit Co-operatives should be organised in such a way so that their scale of operations can be extended throughout the State.

Sixthly, determined efforts should be made to free the organisation from corruption, nepotism, favouritism etc.

Seventhly, primary societies of the state should be converted into multi-purpose service co-operatives to reap maximum benefits out of it.

Lastly, step must be taken to stop unnecessary Governmental interferences in the working of the Co-operative societies in the State.

After the reorganisation of Assam State Co-operative Apex Marketing Society Limited, the Assam State Co-operative Marketing and Consumers Federation or �STATFED� was established in 1975. Since then the activities of this organisation was 554 in 1993-94. In 1993-94 total paid up share capital of this organisation was Rs. 1742.9 lakhs of which the Government�s share was Rs.1738.7 lakhs. Total working capital of this organisation has increased from Rs. 16.4 crores in 1097-79 to Rs.194.9 crores in 1990-91. In the mean time, the Government of Assam has made an arrangement to procure rice and paddy through STATFED at the price fixed by the Government and also to procure rice and paddy on levy basis from the Rice Mills. In 1982-83 Kharif year (till February 1983). STATFED procured about 3.03 lakhs quintal paddy and 491 quintal rice from the entire state. Again in 1993-94, STATFED has made a total turnover of RS. 5230.0 lakhs on the sale of paddy and rice.

Moreover. �STATFED� with its 145 retail outlets has made an arrangement to distribute various essential commodities like foodgrains agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizers etc., consumer goods etc. In 1992-93, total value of seeds and fertilizers distributed by STATFED were Rs. 22.29 lakhs and Rs. 453.06 lakhs respectively ; total value of consumer goods sold was Rs. 3589. 1 lakhs and total sales of this organisation in 1993-94 was to the extent of Rs. 13459.2 lakhs. Moreover, in order to diversify into activities the STAT FED has also set up a highly sophisticated medium scale vanaspati industrial project at Amingaon near Guwahati. This project has started its commercial production and its brand vegetable product "Tripti" has already earned a good name in the market. In 1993-94, total sale proceeds of vanaspati of this project was Rs. 29.5 crores.

Thus the Co-operative movement in Assam which had by now a history of over 90 years during which it passed through several phases of expansion, stagnation, consolidation and development. As the economy of the state is predominantly rural in character, thus an extensive network of sound and viable Co-operatives can be of tremendous help in achieving the objectives of economic growth and social change in this area. Although Co-operative movement in the state has made considerable stride over the years but much more still remains to be done in this area so as to achieve the desired good. Moreover, the increasing incidence of uneconomic and dormant co-operative still continues to be a disturbing feature in the way of its progress in the state. As per available data, nearly 39 percent of the Co-operative societies in the state were reported non-functioning during 1984-85. In the mean time steps have been taken to amalgamate these dormant and uneconomic societies with the viable societies and more such steps would be taken in near future.

Moreover, in recent years various State Government sponsored state level societies and federations have also been promoted in Assam. These includes �STATFED�, �HOUSEFED�, �FISHFED�, �ARTFED� etc. Moreover, there are also a few big sized processing Co-operatives in Assam which include Co-operative sugar mill, Jute mill, cotton ginning mill, vanaspati plant, fruit processing units etc. In 1992-93, about 2482 womens� Co-operatives have been formed to run gainful activities among the women folk of the State.

Assistance from NCDC :

In recent years, the National Co-operative Development Corporation (NCDC) has classified the North-Eastern region as a backward area, specially in the sphere of development of the Co-operative sector in the country.

The NCDC has, therefore, evolved schemes which provide assistance upto 95 percent of the project and programmes for farmers and others in rural areas associated with agriculture and allied fields the NCDC was currently formulating a scheme to promote model Co-operatives, at least one in each backward district to serve as an extension of the education oriented pilot societies for the rural masses.

Since its inception,. the corporation has released a total assistance of Rs. 11,265 lakhs as loan and subsidiary to promote different Co-operative ventures in the region. The statewise cumulative break up is : Assam- Rs. 7274 lakhs, Manipur -Rs. 1711 lakhs, Tripura- Rs. 918 lakhs, Nagaland- Rs.857 lakhs, Mehalaya- Rs. 599 lakhs, Mizoram- Rs.462 lakhs and Arunachal Pradesh- Rs. 92 lakhs.

Some of the important activities carried out by the NCDC in the North-East for the upliftment of rural economy included financial assistance to strengthen the share capital base of primary and district level marketing societies to develop business and rehabilitation of the weaker societies.

Besides giving margin money assistance to state level federation for raising working capital from banks for development of business activities, the corporation assists the Co-operative societies to store and retail horticultural produces by providing rural godowns through both loan and subsidy.

The corporation provides assistance to the Co-operative spinning mills. handloom weaves, agro-service centres and poultry and fishery Co-operatives in the form of infra- structure and share capital through the State Government. In the meantime Assam has received a good amount of assistance from this corporation.

The corporation has also offered assistance in activities such as horticulture, insecticides and pesticides formulation unit, seed development project, co-operative farmers service centre, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe Co-operatives, hill area Co-operatives, rural consumer Co-operatives, student Co-operative store and computerization in the North East.

(Rs. in crores)

Sources: Various issues on Five Year Plans (First to Seventh) from Planning commission, New Delhi and P&D Department, Assam.

The table given above reveals that expenditure on economic and social overheads in Assam increased at a rapid rate since the First Plan onwards i.e., from Rs. 11.16 crores during the First Plan to Rs. 69.22 crores during the Third Plan, and then to Rs. 324.20 crores during the Fifth Plan and to Rs. 866.12 crores during the Sixth Plan and to Rs. 1257.00 crores during the Seventh Plan in Assam and finally to Rs. 1863 crores during the Eighth Plan in comparison to the expenditure during the Third Plan increased more than six times. Again in comparison to the expenditure during the Third Plan, the expenditure on infrastructure during the Seventh Plan in Assam increased more than eighteen times. Further, expenditure on infrastructure as per cent of total outlay which was 54.46 per cent during the First Plan in Assam declined to 45.10 per cent during the Second Plan then gradually increased to 61.50 per cent during the Fourth Plan and again declined to 58.80 per cent during, the fifth Plan and finally reached to 67.50 per cent during Sixth Plan and 59.8 per cent during the Seventh Plan and finally 40.0 per cent during the Eighth Plan in Assam.

Let us now look into the development of power, transport and communication in Assam in details.

Power is one of the most important components of infrastructure for the economic development of a region. Modernization of agriculture and rapid industrialization in an economy depend on the availability of cheap and sufficient electric Power.

Assam possesses vast potential for generation o power based units locally available water, natural gas, coal and oil resources. Assam alone has 28 per cent of the total hydropower potential of the country, which remains underutilized. Besides, gas is also available in plenty, which can also be a good source of power in Assam. But due to a variety of factors, it has not been possible to carry out exploitation of power resources of the State to its fullest. So Assam lags far behind the national average ion the field of power development.

The Assam State Electricity Board, constituted in the year 1958, is responsible for Co-ordinate development of generation, transmission and distribution of power in the State. On 25th January 1975, the Board was bifurcated between Assam and Meghalaya as per provision made in the Northeastern Areas (Re-organisation) Act, 1971. After the re-organisation of Assam, the power generation within the reconstituted State slides down to a very low level as the hydroelectric projects stood transferred to Meghalaya due to their location within the state. But power supply from these sources continued to be made for the consumers in Assam without any break or restrictions.

Let us now look into figure of plan outlay on power development during the various Five Year Plans in order to find out both the rate of increase in the outlay on power along with the relative priority accorded to this sector under the different plans of Assam. These can be seen from the following table.

(Rs. in Lakhs)

Sources: Same as tables 9.1, 9.3, 9.5, 9.7, 9.8, 9.10 & 9.11,

The tables given above reveals that the power development programme in the first two plans could not be given the required attention have been consistent with the potential of the State command s. But power becomes a very favoured sector under the plans of Assam especially after the Third Plan. Total outlay on power increased from Rs., 44.62 crores during the Third Plan to Rs. 486.50 crores during the Seventh Plan which was more than ten times of the Third Plan outlay on power. Taking all the plans together, nearly 20.2 per cent of the total plan outlay was allocated to the development of power. Thus, under the successive plans, there was a sharp increase in the outlay for power in Assam. Thus, during the Second Plan, the actual outlay for power increased by 300 per cent over the First Plan again the outlay for power under the Third Plan increased by 720 per cent over the Second Plan. During the Fourth Plan, there was a little fall in this outlay from that in the third plan. But during the Fifth Plan, the outlay on power increased by 305 per cent over the Fifth Plan outlay. Finally, during the Seventh Plan, the outlay on power increased by only 63 per cent over the sixth Plan outlay. It is also found that these percentages of increase in the outlay for power were far above than those in the total plan outlay of the Five Year Plans except in the case of fourth and Seventh Plan. Besides, the annual average outlay on power in Assam gradually increased from Rs.24 lakhs during the First Plan to Rs. 109 lakhs during the Second Plan and then to Rs. 892 lakhs during the Third Plan. After that there was a fall in the annual average outlay on power to Rs. 931 lakhs during the Ad-hoc plans then the same outlay increased to Rs.783 lakhs during the Fourth Plan and to Rs. 3000 lakhs during the Fifth Plan and then finally increased to Rs. 9700 lakhs during the Seventh Plan period. In the Eighth Five Year Plan of Assam, 25.6 per cent of the total outlay is earmarked for the development of power in this State and thereby the allocation of outlay for the development of power and power and energy was Rs. 1194.46 crores.

Let us now look at the achievements of the Five Year Plans in respect of power development in Assam.

First Plan: During the First Plan period, the Government of Assam adopted a new policy of power development in the State and thereby the Government took up responsibility of execution, management and administration in the field of power. Thus, the Assam State Electricity Board was established according to the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1941. During this plan period, a start was made for the first time in Assam for the installation of Umtru Hydro-Electric project at Burnihat. Major portion of the construction work of this project was completed during the period. The project was designed to create an installed capacity of 75000 KW of power. At the end of First Plan, the total installed capacity was 8.4 M.W. and generation was 11 million Kwh or about 0.9 Kwh per capita consumption as against the all India figure of 28 Kwh.

Besides, a scheme for small town and rural electrification was taken up during this plan period and work on which was started in 1955-56.

Second Plan: In respect of power, the Second Plan took some important steps for both increased generation and consumption of electricity. The per capita consumption of electricity was increased from 0.91 Kwh at the end of 1950-51 to 5.63 KWH at the end of Second Plan. The other achievements during the Second Plan period were as follows:

(a) Additional installed capacity ... 14,597 KW

(b) Additional H.T.Line ... 157 miles

(c) Additional L.T. Line ... 180 miles

(d) Number of Towns electrified ... 25

(e) Number of villages electrified ... 19

In July 1957, the Umtru Hydro Electric Scheme with installed capacity, of 8,400 K.W. was commissioned. Besides, considering the acute power crisis in the State, two more new schemes- (a) Umium hydro-Electric project stage I (capacity, 36,00 K.W.) (b) Naharkatiya gas turbine project 9capacity 69,000.K.W) were sanctioned by the Planning Commission during this plan period Immediate steps were initiated for these projects and the Umium project was undertaken in 1960.

By the end of the Second Plan the installed capacity has come up to 20.5 M.W. and generation to 33 Kwh. Per capita generation has also come up to about 2.8 Kwh against 48 Kwh for All-India.

Third Plan: During the Third Plan, the following principal schemes of power development were implemented in Assam.

Firstly, the construction of Umium Hydro-Electric Project stage I, which started in the first year of the Third Plan was completed and commissioned during the letter part of the Third Plan period with an installed capacity of 36 M.W. The transmission voltage was raised to 132 K.V.

Secondly with the construction of above mentioned project, transmission programmes like- (a) 132 K.V. lines from Guwahati to Bongaigaon, Guwahati to Tezpur and Shillong to Badarpur, (b) 33 K.V. and 11 K.V. and lower voltage lines to supply power to lower Assam region, were undertaken.

Thirdly, substantial progress was made in the construction of the Umium Stage II project during this plan period. It was planned to install 2 generating sets of 9 M.W. each and another one of 2.8 M.W. and ultimately to have an installed capacity of 20.8 M.W.

Fourthly, in 1961, the Namrup Thermal Project based on the huge reserves of gas in the upper Assam oil fields was stated. The Stage I of the project was completed and commissioned in 1965 at the cost of Rs. 135.94 million. Total installed capacity of this project is 69 M.W.

Fifthly, the Guwahati Thermal project was another project included in the Third Plan, which consisted of two units. The first Unit-a gas turbine set at Narangi with the installed capacity of 12.6 M.W. was started in 1963 and completed and commissioned in 1964, and the second unit-a steam turbine set at Chandrapura based on surplus furnace oil of the Noonmati Refinery with the installed capacity of 30 M.W. on which only the preliminary works could be completed during this plan.

Sixthly, several power schemes were implemented during this plan period, which include installation of diesel, sets at Tezpur, Jorhat and Chabua with installed capacity of 8.20 M.W. 3.00 M.W. and 2.00 M.W. respectively.

Seventhly, Nangal-Bibha Thermal Station in the Garo hills a medium power scheme was also included in the Third Plan with an installed capacity of 5 M.W.

All these above mentioned projects has resulted in increasing the installed generating capacity from 20.6 M.W. in 1960-61, both in public and private sectors, to 160.3 M.W. by 1965. Generation has increased from 33 million Kwh to 70 million Kwh. These achievements have carved out a place for Assam in the power map of India. In respect of rural electrification, 96 towns and villages were electrified as against the plan target of 179 electrified villages. The per capita generation came up to about 6 Kwh as against 88 Kwh for India.

Ad-hoc plans: During the Ad-hoc plans in Assam; no new power project was undertaken rather this plan was devoted mainly to the completion of the projects stated earlier and consolidation and maximum utilisation of power generated with the help of increased transmission network.

The Umium stage II project was nearing completion and an additional 2.8 M.W.set was installed at Umtru powerhouse. The transmission lines under Umium Hydel project were completed. The Guwahati Thermal Station and the Garo Hills Thermal Project and the 220 K.V. Guwahati-Nagaon lines were in the peak of construction. The installation of 2*25 M.W. sets of Garo Hills project at Nangal-bibra and 1*30 M.W. steam Turbine Generating unit at Namrup were continuing during this plan period. Extension work of the Naharkatiya Thermal Station was started. Though none of these projects could be completed till the end of 1968-69, the generating capacity already installed had been utilised increasingly. Generation of electricity increased from 70 million Kwh in 1965 to 143 million Kwh in 1967 and to 237 million Kwh during 1968-69. Besides, the 66K.V. line to Nagaland and 132 K.V. lines from Badarpur to churabari were virtually completed. Further, 379 villages were electrified and 54 pump sets were energised during these plans. The major portion of kopili investigation was completed while investigation of the Umium khri, Lower Umium and Kyrdemkulai (Umtrew) was in progress, during these Ad-hoc plans.

Fourth Plan: There was substantial progress in power development during the Fourth Plan period in Assam. At the beginning of the Fourth Plan, there was an installed, capacity of 153 M.W. with the corresponding per capita consumption of 14.8 units. The objective of the Fourth Plan was to increase the power generation to 246 M.W. Against this estimated level of generation; the achievement was 202.95 M.W. increasing the per capita consumption to 20.45 units by the end of the Fourth Plan period. Thus, the power generation in Assam (including Meghalaya) raised from 413.2 million Kwh in 1971 to 529.9 million Kwh 1974.

Although, a number of power generation projects were undertaken but only a few of these projects could be completed and others remained at the different stages of implementation. Firstly, Guwahati Thermal Power Station (1*30 M.W.) was completed during the Fourth Plan. Secondly Umium Hydel Projects Stage (2*9 M.W.+1*2.8 M.W.) started during the third Plan was completed during the Fourth Plan period. Thirdly, Namrup Thermal Power Station Extension (1*30 M.W.) and shifting of 1*12.5 M.W. gas Turbine from Guwahati to Namrup were made in its construction. Fourthly, work of Garo-Hills Thermal Project (2*2.5 M.W.) was continued during this plan period but could not be completed, Fifthly, Kyrdemkulai Hydro-Electric Project (2*30vM.W.) which was undertaken during this plan, only preliminary works on this project could be completed. Besides, two projects of construction of transmission line from Guwahati to Now gong (220 K.V.) and now gong to Mariani (220 K.V.) were undertaken during this plan period. Bur only the first line was completed and the second line remained incomplete during this plan period.

Fifth Plan: In Assam, the power supply system faced some important changes during the Fifth Plan period. In 1972, the full state of Meghalaya came into existence. Thus, in 1975, the control over all the Hydel capacity of 67 M.W. from the two Umtru-Umium Hydel systems was transferred to Meghalaya State Electricity Board. Several power projects were undertaken in the Fifth Plan and in many of these projects substantial progress was made. These included (a) 45 M.W. Lakwah Gas Turbine Project; (b) 2*23 M.W. Namrup waste heat project; (c) 30 M.W. Chandrapur oil based extension project; (d) 2*60 M.W. Bongaigaon Thermal project based on coal from the Bengal-Bihar belt; (e) Lower Barapani (Kamrup) Hydel project; (f) kopili hydel (first stage) project etc.

Under the First Plan, the achievement in respect of power was satisfactory. The fifth Plan has fulfilled the target of raising installed capacity of power to the extent of 141.5 M.W Against of 1780 M.W. During the Fifth Plan period. Under the rural electrification scheme, the target of the Fifth Plan was to electrify 1975 villages of which only 660 villages were electrified during this plan period.

Sixth Plan: During the Sixth Plan period, the total amount of expenditure on power was Rs. 457.7 crores as against the allocation of only Rs. 370.68 crores. But the details of the physical achievement of this plan in respect of power were not yet available. Total installed capacity of the power projects of Assam, which was 201.5 M.W. in 1980-81, increased to 349.4 M.W. in 1984-85. The Sixth Plan set the target of raising the installed capacity to 500 M.W. by the end of the plan. Total units generated in Assam increased from 465 Kwh in 1980-81 to 852 Kwh. in 1984-85. The projects undertaken in the Sixth Plan were: extension of Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (2*60 M.W.) Namrup waste Heat Power Projects (22M.W.) extension of Chandrapur thermal power station (30 M.W.) Karbio-Longpi Hydroelectric power (2*50 M.W.) etc. During this plan period, Kopili Hydro electric Project a venture of NEEPCO was almost completed. During the Sixth Plan about 7000 villages were electrified.

Seventh Plan : One of the objectives of the Seventh Plan is a speedy development of power generation along with utilisation of existing generation capacity. The Seventh Plan gives topmost priority to generation of power and thus 25 per cent of the total plan outlay in earmarked for the development of power sector in this State.

Accordingly, the total generation of electricity in Assam has increased from 845.10 million Kwh in 1985-86 to 1147.2 million of Kwh in 1989-90. Total installed capacity of power projects in Assam has also increased from 400.4 M.W. in 1985-86 to 514.4 M.W. in 1989-90. Moreover, in march 1988, 220 K.V. transmission line at Jogighopa Pancharatna and 220 K.V line at Silghat Bhomraguri have been completed.

In respect of rural electrification, total number of villages electrified in Assam till February, 1990 was 20,984 which accounted nearly 95 per cent of the total inhabited villages of the State.

Eighth Plan : During the Eighth Five Year Plan in Assam , 25.6 per cent of the total plan outlay is allocated for the development power sector of the State. In 1992-93, i.e. during the first year of the Eighth Plan, total installed capacity of power projects in Assam gradually increased to 514.4 M.W. Moreover , total units of electricity generated was 1068.3 million Kwh (unit) in 1992-93.

During the Eighth Plan period, two power projects which have been commissioned by the north Eastern Power corporation Ltd. (NEEPCO) include the Assam Gas-based Combined Cycle Project at Kathalguri (291 M.W) and Kopili Hydro-electric Extension Project (100 M.W.). In 1993-94, the State Government has signed MOUs, with private developers for completion of Karbi-Longpi Hydro-electric Project, Namrup Thermal Power Extension Project and Combined Cycle gas-based Projects at Amguri, Admtilla and Banskandi.

Installed capacity and generation of electricity in Assam.

Although Assam is blessed with rich power potential but these potentialities were not exploited before the introduction of Five Year Plans. The installed capacity thus gradually increased with the start of planning in the State. The following table shows the progress of power development in Assam showing the installed capacity and generation of electricity in the different representative years.

Sources : 1. Assam through the First Three Five Year Plan

Deptt. of Economic & Statistics, Government of Assam, 1970, p-40

2. Economic Survey, Assam 1973-74 and 1982-83 and 1989-90

3. Statistical Hand Book, Assam 1992.

The table above shows that the total installed capacity of the power projects in Assam increased from 3.3 M.W. in 1950-51 to 5.2 M.W. in 1955-56 i.e. by 58 per cent during the First Plan period. But the generation of electricity increased from 6.6 million Kwh in 1950-51 to 11.2 million Kwh in 1955-56 which showed a 71 per cent increase during this period.

The installed capacity increased from 5.2 M.W. in 1955-56 to 26.4 M.W. in 1960-61 showing an increase of 402 per cent during Second Plan period. Besides, the generation of electricity in Assam also increased from 11.2 million Kwh in 1955-56 to 43.4 million Kwh in 1960-61 i.e. by 286 per cent during the plan period.

Again the installed capacity and generation of electricity in Assam registered a spectacular increase during the Third Plan period. Thus, the total installed capacity which was only 26.4 M.W. during 1960-61 increased to 160 M.W. in 1965-66, i.e., 742 per cent. Total generation of electricity in Assam, which was 43.4 million Kwh in 1960-61 increased to 87 million Kwh in 1965-66 i.e., by 100.4 per cent during this plan period.

During the Ad-hoc plans, there was virtually no increase in the installed capacity in Assam although the generation of electricity increased by 79 per cent.

During the Fourth Plan period, the total installed capacity in Assam increased by 26 per cent i.e., from 161 M.W. in 1968-69 to 202.9 M.W. in 1973-74. But the generation of electricity increased by 108 per cent i.e., from 249 million Kwh in 1968-69 to 518 million Kwh in 1973-74.

Following the bifurcation of the Assam State Electricity Board (A.S.E.B.) in January, 1975 the installed capacity as well as the generation of electricity in the re-organised Assam got reduced considerably as the two hydro-electric projects under ASEB went over to Meghalaya. Thus, the total installed capacity of power in the State sto76yhod at 111.5 M.W. only in 1975-76. In 1980-89, total installed capacity of power in Assam increased to 201.5 M.W. However, due to persistent efforts in the end of 1984-85, 409 M.W. at the end of 1988-86 and further to 514.4 M.W. at the end of 1992-93 and finally to 534.4 MW at the end of 1993-94. The project-wise break up of installed capacity, as stood at the end of 1992-93, were as follows: (I) Namrup Thermal Power Project (133.5 M.W.) (ii) Chandrapur Thermal Power Project (30 M.W.) (iii) Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station c240 M.W.) (iv) Lakwa Thermal Power Station (4*15 M.W.) (v) Mobile Gas Turbine Sets at Kathalguri (4*2.7 M.W) (vi) Mobile Gas Turbine Sets at Geleky (vii)Bordikharu Micro Hydel Project (2*0.5 M.W.) (viii) kopili Hydroelectric Project (150M.W.) and stand by diesel sets (16.3 M.W.) With the completion of power projects of Assam undertaken during the Eighth Plan, the total installed capacity of power would be around 700 M.W. which would reduce the wide gap between availability and demand for power in the State.

The generation of electricity in the State has shown a steady upward trend since 1975-76 except for the year 1979-80 and 1980-81. The total units generated during 1975 -76 was 449 million Kwh which increased to 658 million Kwh in 1978-79. But in successive two years i.e., in 1979-80 and 1980-81 the unit generation dwindled to 513 and 465 million Kwh respectively. During 1985-86, power generation in the State reached the level of 845 million Kwh and further to a new peak level of 1206 million Kwh in 1990-91.

But, the total generation of electricity in Assam has declined to 1079.5 million Kwh in 1991-92 and then to 1068.3 million Kwh in 1992-93. Out of the four units of Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (BTPS) total amount of power generated by its three units was nearly two-third of the total power generated in the State. But due to the absences of regular supply of coal and technical faults, the generation of power by the BTPS started to declined and the situation became so worse at the end of 1993, that the generation had to be stopped totally. Due to this, the generation of power in Assam had to face a serious situation and the economy of the state was very much affected out of it.

In the mean time, the power supply position in Assam has gained some momentum with the completion of some on-going projects. The availability of power within Assam has been improved considerably during the period from April to December, 1996. The system availability during the period is 1961.04 million unit which is higher by 167.56 million units compared to the same period of the previous year.

The installed generation capacity of ASEB till March 1997 has reached the -level of 574.4 MW. Share of power for Assam from central sector generation projects would increase to 244 MW on commissioning of all generating units of Gas-based Power Project at Kathalguri.

Moreover, there will be substantial improvement in power generation once adequate quantity of gas is made available to ASEM�s gas-based power stations at Lakwa and Namrup.

Although the total installed capacity of all power projects in Assam remained at 534.4 MW in 1993-94 but the actual generation of power declined to 150 MW during the period. During the present times while the peak hour load in Assam has increased to 440M.W. then the actual installed capacity has come down to only 150 M.W. leading to an abnormal situation in the State. In April, 1995, there was a large gap of about 250 M.W. between requirement and actual available.

Thus , the situation in this infrastructure sector is already going from bad to worse. Because of poor credibility as a buyer of power, recurring problems are arising in the matter of augmenting the shortfall by importing power from outside. As a result, rural areas including district headquarters are hardly getting any power supply during the peak hours and repeated unscheduled load shedding has become a way of life.

In the mean time, the work of Assam Gas-based Power undertaken by NEEPCO at Kathalguri of Dibrugarh district has been almost completed and the project in commissioned on 24th March, 1995. The project will ultimately generate 291 M.W. of power by utilizing on million standard cubic meter of natural gas per day made available from Kathalguri OCS of Oil India Limited. At present the project will generate 100 M.W. of power and by March, 1996 the project will be able to generate 291 M.W. of power. After completion, Assam will get 145 M.W. of power from this project.

But the other on-going power projects are not progressing at a satisfactory rate. The Ranganadi Hydel Project is of late kept starved of funds by the Center. Amguri Adamtilla and Baskadi gas-based projects are yet to get off ground. The infamous Karbi-Longpi Hydel Project is still to make any headway. Although the Bongaigaon thermal Power Station (BTPS) has already examined by Polish experts and most off its machineries are found in good condition but the state government was not able to provide any fund to meet the expenditures to modernize and alter not some of them as suggested by the experts.

According to the most optimistic estimates, it will be the turn of the century at the earliest before the new project the new projects are implemented and start generating power.

In order to meet this huge gap between the growing requirement and supply of power within the state, the State Government has taken steps to purchase power from the M.S.E.B. of Meghalaya and various power projects of NEEPCO located outside the State and also to bring power from Farakka Project of NTPC to tide over the present difficult situation in the state. Accordingly, the total volume of power purchased by the state has increased from 350 million units in 1981-82 to 923.5 million units in 1989-90 and then to million units in 1993-94.

the average plant load factor (PLF) reflects the operational efficiency of power projects in conditions of excess demand. In Assam, the average plant load factors of A.S.EB. projects in abnormally low. Comparing with the overall national PLF of 61.0 per cent in 1993-94, the
PLF of A.S.E.B. is steadily dwindling from 27.70 per cent in 1990-91 to 24.6 per cent in 1991-92 and then to 28.6 per cent in 1995-96. Thus, in respect PLF, as per national rating ASEB in ranked 15th Position amongst the state electricity boards in the country and is ranked just above Durgapur project and Bihar State Electricity Board.

Moreover, the State is also facing a problem of huge transmission and distribution losses which in estimated to be will over 25 per cent.

Assam along with the other North-Eastern states are having a huge potential for the development power in Assam. Though the entire north-eastern region has a large water, gas and oil resources and coal deposits which can be utilised for power generation but these resources have not been properly tapped for the benefits of the region as well as of the country in the sector of power generation.

Brahmaputra being the major river of Assam as well as the other north-eastern states is having around 43,269 MW of hydro power potential which have remained largely unexploited. At present, the total investigated potential of hydro-electric project s in the region is 30,000 MW approximately whereas only 492 MW has been developed and another 1250 MW being development for which construction work is going on.

The North-Eastern Electrical Power Corporation (NEEPCO), constituted in 1976, have come a long way to become instrumental in boosting the entire scene of power generation of the region. The Corporation started with the construction and commissioning of 150 MW Kopili Hydro Electric Project at Umrangshu In Assam. On 24th March, 1995 the NEEPCO commissioned the Assam Gas-based Power Project (291MW) at Kathalguri located at the Dibrugarh district of Assam. Initially the first three gas-turbine units are formally commissioned at Kathalguri which is scheduled to generate 100 MW of power at present. Another 3 gas-turbine units with installed capacity of 100 MW is scheduled to be commissioned in July, 1995 and the remaining 3 steam turbines with installed capacity of 90 MW is again scheduled to be commissioned by March, 1996. After the completion of this project, Assam in expected to get 145 MW (50 per cent) of power from it.

Another on going projects which is nearing completion includes Kopili extension hydel project having an installed capacity of 100 M.W. The Kopili extension hydel power project on completion will generate 502 million units of power per annum. This project being developed by NEEPCO is scheduled to be fully commissioned in 1997.

Thus, after the completion and commissioning of these two major projects the recent power policy of the Central Government the Government of Assam has already signed MOUs with private developers for the completion of Karbi-Longpi Hydro Electric Project, Namrup Thermal Power Extension Project and Combined Cycle Gas-based Projects at Amguri, Adamtilla and Banskandi. the primary power purchase agreements have also been signed with the developers of Amguri, Adamtilla and Banskandi project. The State Government has also extended State guarantee for the Amguri project and urged the Center to provide counter-guarantee of Government of India for the project expeditiously.

The responsibility of completing Karbi-Longpi hydel project was entrusted with Subash Projects and Marketing Limited (SPML). The Amguri Combined Gas Power Station with an installed capacity of 280 M.W. has been entrusted to Assam Power Partners Private Limited for its planning and execution. The scheme envisages installation of multiple units of gas turbine with associated infrastructure and machinery and equipment at an estimated cost of Rs. 990 crores. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) for setting up a 90 M.W. gas-based power station was also signed between ASEB, the State Government and the executor of the Rs. 360 crores project-the Assam Valley Power Corporation Ltd. on February 1995. Again the Baskandi Gas-based Power Projects has also been finalised at an estimated cost of 70 crores. This project is located at cachar district of Assam and the foundation stone laying ceremony of this project has already been completed in April, 1995. The installed capacity of this project is 15.5 M.W. Moreover, the work of the 360 MW Amguri Gas-based Power Project will commence during 1995-96. The Centre is drawing up the final plans for the project which will be set up by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).

Meanwhile, the State Government after analysing various options has Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for execution. The Amguri Power Project which was earlier taken up by an American Consortium-Assam Power Partners Limited did no go ahead as it was denied counter guarantee by the Government . Moreover, the proposed gas based Amguri project, entrusted to NTPC has been downgraded to 290 MW from the proposed 360 MW due to non availability of the required gas.

Moreover, considering the failure of Subash Project and Marketing Ltd to revive Karbi Longpi hydel project, the Government of Assam has taken over possession of the Karbi-Longi hydel project (100MW) and arrangement for execution of the balance work is being made.

Construction of Gas-based Power Projects at Adamtilla and Banskandi with combined capacity of 24.5 MW in Barak valley are progressing according to schedule and would be commissioned shortly.

Moreover, the Assam Government has singed a MOU with Us based company. Ogden Energy of New Jersey in June 1997 for taking over the Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (BTPS) for its renovation and up gradation. Besides , the Assam Government has also decided to collaborate with a US based company to explore possibilities of setting up power projects in the State. Meanwhile, a US based Company, American Power Gen System Association has submitted a proposal to the Assam Government for setting up a 300 MW coal based project at Borgolali.

Looking into the future position, as per projections of the 13th Electric Power Survey of India conducted by CEA in 1987, the peak load of ASEB is likely to be around 849 MW after 1994-95 with its energy requirements being about 3890 million Kwh Installed capacity was projected to be around 799 MW and peak availability of 583 MW. The peak demand expected to increase 1190 MW in 1999-2000 and energy requirement upto 5890 million units.

Again, recently an assessment of the additional power requirement has been made by the Working Group on Power, set up by the Planning Commission for formulation of the Ninth Five Year Plan. As per this assessment it is found that the additional assessed power capacity requirement of Assam during the Ninth Plan (1997-2002) would be 287.5 MW.

The present installed capacity of Assam is 534.4 MW in 1993-94. The expected addition from now onwards upto 2002 AD are as follows :

Thus if this expected pipeline projects are implemented in time then it is expected that the state can be rescued from its severe power crisis.

Moreover measures have been initiated for setting up of 23 Mini Hydel Projects in Assam Locations of all there 23 hydel projects have been identified at various places of the state. These are : Bordikhanu (MW), Lungit (6 MW in two stages), Myntrirang (9 Mwin two stages), Jamma (2 MW), Jenam (4 MW) Dalaima (6 MW), Dhansiri Canal (20 MW in 5 stages), Nazirakhat (15 MW), kalmoni (200 KW), Deopani (250 KW), Amlong (100 KW), Major (15 KW), Champabati (500KW), Sunani (150 KW), Shamangsoo (25 MW), Anjupani (500 KW), Killinbg (3 MW), Ganapati (500 KW), Borjuri (2 MW), Upper Barjuri (2 MW) and Loongsoong (500 KW).

Investigations on these proposed mini-hydel projects have either been completed or are under process. The Bardikharu project is already completed but not functioning as yet. The Dhansiri Canal Hydel Project is already under implementation. In respect of Champabati, Borjuri, Upper Barjuri and Loonsoong Project, investigation are already undertaken by private parties.

In addition to the aforesaid projects, studies for micro hydel project, at Ukium, Kulsi, Rani, Dudhnoi, Hahim, Singra, Jinjiram, Bashistha and Chapanala are also being undertaken.

Since it is felt that public sector alone cannot meet growing demands of power adequately, the State Government has decided to handover the responsibility of setting up small and medium hydro-electric projects to the private sector. Such efforts would virtually ease the present shortage of power supply in the State and assure speedy growth of new economic avenues.

Thus, the state government has taken initiatives in bringing in private investment in the power sector both from within the country and abroad. Out of the total 190 private power sector proposals received by the country till June, 1995 with the estimated capacity of 75,259 M.W. Assam received five proposals for a total capacity of 500 M.W. at provisional investment cost of Rs. 2000crores.

Pattern of Power Consumption

Regarding the pattern of electricity consumption in Assam during the period 1950-51 to 1973-74, there was gradual fall in the percentage of electricity consumption for domestic, commercial and public lighting purposes and a continuous rise in the percentage of power consumed for industrial purposes from 13.1 per cent in 1950-51 to 58.8 per cent in 1968-69 again fell to 44.9 per cent in 1973-74. The following table shows the pattern of power consumption in recent years.

Table No. 10.4

Consumption of electricity in Assam ( in million Kwh)

Source : Assam State Electricity Board.

The table reveals that in recent years, the industrial sector ( including tea gardens) continued to be the biggest consumer of in the State which alone consumes about two fourth of the State�s total power consumption. Besides the industrial sector, other types of consumption are also recording considerable increase which also can be seen from the table.

Thus, it found that in Assam, the consumption of power by industry at low and medium voltage has increased from 61.00 million Kwh in 1980-81 to 149.00 million Kwh in 1990-91 and then declined to only 70.00 million Kwh in 1992-93. Again total consumption of power by industries at high voltage has increased considerably from 245.00 million Kwh in 1992-93. Again the total consumption of power by tea gardens in Assam has also increased from 99.71 million Kwh in 1980-81 to 284.00 million Kwh in 1990-91 and then declined to 180.00 million Kwh, in 1980-81 to 180.00 million Kwh , in 1990-91 and then to 232.00 million Kwh in 1992-93. Again, the bulk electric supply in the state sector has also increased from 110.29 million Kwh. in 1980-81 to 165.00 million Kwh in 1990-91 and then declined to 150 million Kwh in 1992-93. Besides, total units of electricity sold outside the State was 218.00 million Kwh in 1990-91 and 107.71 million Kwh. in 1992-93 Finally, total units of electricity sold by the State Electricity Board has also increased from 638.00 million Kwh in 1980-81 to 1636.00 million Kwh in 1990-91 and then slightly declined to 1590 million Kwh. in 1992-93.

 Rural Electrification

Rural Electrification programme is gaining momentum since the last few years. This programme is very mush essential for the execution of development programmes both in the agricultural and rural sector. Rural electrification also helps in divers tries and of rural economy thought the establishment of agro based industries and other small and cottage industries.

It was only from the Second Plan the rural electrification was given due importance in Assam and allocation of Rs.46.38 lakhs was made on it .During the Third, Fourth and Fifth plan ,total allocations for rural electrification in Assam were Rs.25 lakhs, Rs. 514.25 lakhs and Rs.`48 crores respectively which showed a progressive rise in its outlay,

The following table shows the number of villages. electrified and percentages of electrified village to total inhabited villages.

Table No. 10.5

Source : Assam State Electricity Board.

The table given above shows that number of villages electrified with was only 2 in 1956 increased to 96 in 1966 and then jumped to 1146 in 1974 and 2176 in 1978. In1981, the number of electrified villages became then double i.e., 5672 within 7 years and then further increased to 6673 and 7541 in 1981 and 1983 respectively.

Again the total number of villages electrified in Assam has increased considerably from 11,806 in 1985 to 20.984 in 1990 and then it further increased to 21,344 in 1991 and then to 21,495 in 1994

In Assam the percentage of small towns and villages electrified to total number of villages increased from nil in 1951 to 1.0 in 1969, 9.9 per cent in 1978, 25.6 per cent in 1981,30. 3 per cent in 1982 and to 34.3 per cent in 1983 as against the all India coverage of 53 per cent villages in 1982. Among the districts Kamrup district had largest number of electrified villages (1186) in 1983 white it was lowest in the district of N. C Hills, being only 86. However, proportion of village electrified to total inhabited village had been found to be highest in the district of Now gong ( 58.8 per cent) and lower in the district of North Lakhimipur (9.4 per cent ). During 1982-83 altogether 868 village were electrified in the stat as against electrified of 1046 villages in 1981-82 and 1401 villages in 1980-81.

Again in recent years, the percentage of village electrified to total inhabited villages in Assam has increased considerable from 45.4 per cent in 1985 to86.7 per cent in 1990 and then it slightly increased to 82.0 per cent in 1991 and them to 82.6 per cent in 1993. Moreover, among the various districts of Assam. Nagaon district had the largest number of electrified villages (1413) in 1993 while it was lowest in the North Cachar Hills district, bring only 271 villages.

The State Government has also embarked upto an ambitious programme in rural electrification and expected to achieve cent electrified of all villages by 1998. Accordingly the State government has decided to expand " Kutir Jyoti Scheme" and thereby 350 villages would be electrified in 1994-95, 900 villages in 1995-96, 940 villages in 1996-97 and cent per electrification of all villages by 1997-98. Besides, the State Government has decided to expand " Kutir Jyoti Scheme" covering one lakh households in the next year.

Steps to be taken

Considering the immense potential (based on hydel on hydel, natural gas, oil and coal reserves) of Assam the present rate of its exploitation is found to respect of meager I per cent of the country�s total installed capacity of power. Moreover, the average per capita consumption of power in Assam works out to be only 78 units as against 236 units for the country as a whole in 1990-91.

The main reasons behind the poor the development of power potential in the state are lack of industrialization, financial constraints and inefficient management of the State electricity Board.

The following steps are worth taking for improving the power system in Assam :

(I) Wastage or leakage in plan expenditure on power projects should be stopped completely and be seriously dealt with for relishing the fullest benefits of each projects .

(ii) To avoid delay in completing the power projects there should he proper evaluation of each power project . There necessitate (a)Investment surveys (b) Concurrent evaluation and (c)Post-project evaluation of every power project.

(iii) The Assam State Electricity Board should tone up their efficiency level and generate surpluses at the rate of at least 6 per cent of the invested capital.

(iv) Corrupt practices followed by a section of customers and officials, resulting huge loss of revenue and wastage of materials must be dealt with seriously and be stopped completely.

(v) Steps must be taken to reduce the transmission loss in power.

(vi) In view of the need to fully utilise the practically untapped but huge power potential of the State, the centre should forward with its own schemes to develop power potential of the State, the center should come forward with its own schemes to develop power facilities in this State and must offer block grant and specific grants to the State Electricity Board for developing new power projects. The surplus power which can be made available by utilising huge untapped power potential in Assam can be supplying through a national power grid system.

Although the State is at present passing thought a serious power crisis the Government is trying to attract private investment for development of various power projects but as per the most optimistic estimates, it will be the turn of the century at the earliest before the new project are implemented and start generating power. It will therefore , be necessary to look how the best perceptible improvement can be brought in the key areas like better project management and system, improvement in plant load factor ( PLF), bringing down transmission and distribution losses and most urgently restoring the financial health of the Board.

In order to tone up the State Electricity Board for raising energy bills is times fixing minimum target for each subdivision per month introducing a system of rebate for timely payment of dues penalty for delay, stopping leakages and permanent disconnection as and when any attempt of tampering with is detected, pulling up spend thrift officials indulging in creation of dead stock-piling inventories and meting out exemplary punishment where needed, keeping tabs on purchases, restricting tours, imposing an on hiring of private vehicle for use in so called official works under one pretext or another, embargo on new appointment are some of the important areas worth considering. Following the above mentioned path, the surplus so generated and saving accrued can easily be ploughed back for productive purposes.

TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION

A well developed Transport and Communication system contributes to a great extent towards serving the social needs and providing necessary infrastructure for rapid economic development of a region. The importance of transport and communication facilities is very high in a State like Assam as the State imports practically all her requirements of consumer goods, machineries, equipments, raw materials for the industries and at the same time exports a huge amount of goods produced within the state, like tea, jute, timber, bamboo and bamboo produces, minerals and mineral oil. Moreover, Assam�s Central position in the north-eastern region makes its transport and communication facilities more important as all traffic in goods or passengers of other North-Eastern states have to pass though Assam.

But unfortunately Assam hardly enjoys a creditable position in this respect The State stillcontinues to suffer from inadequate transport and communication facilities which still continues to act as an impediment to the economic development of the State. In view of the vital importance of this sector, the State Government so far made considerable efforts though successive five year plans to make up the leeway but much more still remains to be done. The North-Eastern Council, thought its own projects, has also lent support to this cause. Thus, a sizable improvement in this sector is likely to record in near future with the joint efforts of both the Central and State Governments.

 Transport System in Assam

There are different types of transport system in Assam viz, railways. roads, waterways and airways.

 Railway Transport in Assam

Railway transport system in Assam was initiated in 1881 when the Assam Railways and Trading Company was formed by the British under the leadership of Dr. John Barry White and the first railway line from Dibrugarh steamer ghat to Jaipur Road was inaugurated in the next year . Two more companies-Jorhat Provincial Railway and Tezpur -Balipara Railway were also set up in 1885to cater to the need of transport of tea gardens of Jorhat and Tezpur area.

In 1892, the Assam Bengal Railway was formed to provide railway connection to Assam with the rest of India In 1902, Dhubri was connected with Calcutta by the extension of Eastern Bengal Railway line. Again in 1909-10, Aminagaon was connected with Calcutta through Dhubri the period of 1896 to 1993, there was rapid expansion of railway lines in Assam.

After independence, there was lot of changes in the railway system of Assam . After partition, the railway link between Assam and Calcutta was closed. Thus, the work of Assam railway link was started in 1948 and the same was completed in December, 1949. In 1958, the North-East Frontier Railway Zone (N.F. Railway Zone) was formed and its headquarter was established at Maligaon.

Railways serve as the main communication link between Assam and the rest of India. The total railway route length in Assam increased from 1758 Km in 1960-61 to 2361.82 Kilometers in 1994-95 (468.68 Kilometers under broad gauge and 1893.14 Kilometers under meter gauze) which constituted nearly 3.75 per cent of the total railway route length of broad gauze line to the extent of 801 kilometers from Guwahati to Dibrugarh total B. G railway route length of Assam stands at 901.0 Kilometers in 1995. However, the position of the State in the respect of broad gauge route length was very much disappointing since it accounted for even less than2.2 per cent of the country�s total. The State�s meter gauze railway rote length for every 100 sq. Km. of area was 2.0 k.m. as against the all-India average of 0.8 Km. But the broad gauge railway route length of the Stare was only 1.00 K.M. per 100 sq. k.m. of area in comparison to that of the all India average on 0.9 km.

In 1997, the proportion of broad gauge route length to total railway route length, thus worked out to be only 38.1 per cent Assam as against nearly 55.0 per cent for the country as a whole. Assam is , however, favorably placed in respect of position relating to railway route length per 1000 sq . km. of geographical area which worked out to be about 30 kms. in the State as against about 19 kms. for the country as a whole at the end of 1988-89.

The operating conditions of railway in Assam is very difficult due to incidence of breaches from natural causes like floods and heavy landslides in hilly regions during monsoon which affect the rail transport in Assam adversely every year .

The railways in Assam has great economic significance as the development of coal, oil and tea industry depend to a large extent on transportation facilities provided by the railway industry.

Besides , various developmental activities in the railway sector including extension of railway line have been continuing in the state. Amongst the important achievement mentioned may be made by opening of the Balipara Bhalukpong metre gauge to passenger traffic on 27th January, 1989 and Lala Bazar -Bhairabari metre gauge line on April. 1989. The completion of construction work BG/MG line form Amguri in Assam to Tuli in Nagaland in a notable achievement . Another important railway project under implementation in the state is the construction of a rail-cum road bridge (Naranarayan Setu) across the river Brahmaputra, connecting Jogighopa and Pancharatna in the Goalpara district along with construction B.G. railway line (136 kms.) on the south bank connecting Jogighopa with Guwahati. The construction work of the bridge is progressing satisfactorily and is scheduled to be completed by 1997-98.

New Railway Projects :

Moreover , the Union Government has now decided to accordingly approved a large number of projects of rail network in the Northeast and accordingly approved a large number of projects for this area. The projects include 

(a) Conversion of Simaluguri- Moranhat and Mariani -Jorhat - Farkating branch lines;

(b) Construction of a new BG line from Dudhnoi to Depa in Meghalaya:

(c) Conversion of a 198 km.Lumding-Silchar Hill section into Broad Gauge:

(d)Construction of a rail-cum -road bridge over Brahmaputra at Bagibill:

(e) Construction of a new 119 km. line form Kumarghat to Agartalla,

(f) Construction of a new 123 km. line from Diphu to Karong, (g) Construction of a new 35 km. line from Hurmuti to Itanagar and (h) Conversion of Siliguri New Bongaigaon 280 km. section into Broad Gauge.

In the mean time , the Guwahati-Dibrugarh 801 km. Uni gauge conversion has already been completed and same has been opened for passenger traffic recently. Moreover , the Tinsukia -Ledo 27 km. B.G> line and Chaparmuk-Haibargaone 35 km. line have already been opened for passenger traffic. Now in order to improve the railway transport condition in the North eastern region, the above mentioned new work of the state as well of this region .

 Waterways : Inland water Transport in Assam

There are unique opportunities for developing inland water transport in Assam . There are two river systems-the Brahmaputra and the Barak -kushirara and their tributaries in the south. Besides, country boats carry goods for internal trades in many other rivers of the State.

From the very beginning the people of Assam was conducting its trade with the neighboring states though its water transport. Again in the early part of their rule, the British authorities started to develop river transport in Assam considering the constraints in the development of roads and railway. The East India Company stared a steamer service in 1947. Later two more private companies were formed in 1864 to provide regular commercial services to Assam . These two companies were the India General Navigation Company and the River Steam Navigation Company . Afterwards, these two companies were joined together to from the Joint Steamer Companies which ultimately maintained steamer services in the Joint Steamer Companies which ultimately maintained steamer services in the State throughout the British period. The steamer services helped the state in exporting bulky products like tea, jute, timber. and also importing other consumer goods at a very low transit cost.

After independence, this inland water transport system was developed further to meet the growing needs of transportation.

Assam has a total navigable waterways to the extent of 4065.6 . kms. our of which 2, 193.6 kms, are navigable though out the year and rest 1,872 km. are navigable only during the monsoon. Previously about 93 per cent of tea and 90 per cent of jute exported from Assam were carried by water ways till the Indo-Pakistan war in 1965.

Water transport in Assam can still play a significant role. The Bhagawati Committee recommended for the improvement of inland water transport with special reference to Assam. To revitalize the waterways in Assam, it should be thoroughly reorganized and following steps, e.g.,., conservancy of the river system, organisation for development and maintenance of waterways, provision of modern port and dry dock facilities at different terminal points, replacements of old vessels by new and efficient ones, provision of a good marine workshop, acquisition of heavy cranes for loading of heavy cargo etc. must be taken.

During 1981-82 vessels of different types were in operation in about 5200 Kilometers of waterways of the State. Two public sector Organisation viz; the State Directorate of Inland water Transport and the Central Inland water Transport Corporation are presently rendering navigation facilities in the State on commercial basis. In 1992-93, the State Directorate of Inland Water Transport Communication operated its ferry services in 60 different routes across the river Brahmaputra and Barak. The Directorate had a fleet of 130 different crafts in 1992-93, of which34 were modern steel vessels, 10 ramp powered lighter vessels, 10 pontoons, 17 mar boats, 4 relief boats and 56 single boats.

During 1983-84, the vessels of Inland Water Transport of the State carried on average 6862 number of passengers and 168 M.T. of goods per day. In 1991-92, total number of passengers handled were 5951 thousands and the volume of goods handled were 96,447 tonnes.

Government�s Efforts to Develop Water transport :

Considering the rice potentiality and importance of inland water transport in a riverine like Assam, the State Government has suggested to the centre a number of policies for the development of the inland water transport (iWT) system, including declaring it as an industry, during the Ninth Plan period (1997-2002).

Right form the First Plan to the Eighth Plan, the IWT sector suffered a set back compared to roadways and railways in respect of fund allocation. Thus it has become imperative to make the fund collection of fund collection liberal during the Ninth Plan period for the development of IWT sector , Moreover, in order to attract private entrepreneurs for investing in the IWT sector, it should be declared an industry like tourism. In order to develop the backward areas and tribal belts in the hinterland, the IWT sector should also be declared a priority sector at par with similar nascent industries. The State Government also suggested to remove all discrepancies faced by IWT with railways and roadways so that a level playing ground be provided to determine the cost of transportation independent of any subsidy for all modes of transport. The Government further suggested to set up Regional Inland Navigational Institute (RINI) at Guwahati for imparting specific training in the various disciplines of waterways.

Meanwhile, the State IWT Department has proposed to construct about 22 steel mar boats costing about Rs. 246 lakh for the Neemati- Kamalabari and Dibru- Souari- Burisuti ferry services during the Ninth plan under the North Eastern Council (NEC) scheme. The Neemati-Kamalabari ferry service is connected with Nagaland in the south and Arunachal Pradesh in north via Lakhimipur district. The Dibru-Sonari-Burisuti ferry service is connected with Arunachal Pradesh and is one of the most important and shortest routes between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

The present feet position is not sufficient to cope with the first phases of crossing. In 1997- 98,Rs. 160 lakhs has been proposed to start with the first phase of work. The IWT Department has also proposed to construct permanent terminal at Silchar for transshipment of cargo between Calcutta and Silchar at a cost of about Rs. 781.35 lakhs. It has further proposed procurement of six high speed river going vessels for the Brahmaputra at a cost of about Rs. 1,029 lakh during the Ninth Plan period.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India under the Ministry of Surface Transport, Government of India, is taking various steps to develop inland water transport in Assam . Floating terminals are planned at Tezpur, Dibrugarh and Jogighopa during 1996-97. The State Government has already been approached to transfer five floating pontoons, built under the funding of North Eastern Council, for utilization as floating pontoons at terminals.

A scheme at an estimated cost of Rs. 196 lakh for providing buoys for day and night navigational facilities between Bangladesh border and Guwahati is also under implementation. According to the annual report of the Ministry of Surface Transport for the year 1995-96, a navigational channel is being developed in the Dhubri Dibrugarh stretch of the Brahmaputra. Besides construction of the Dhubri Dibrugarh stretch of Badarpur river terminal are also under consideration. The Ministry of Surface Transport also plans to provide navigational infrastructure for inland water transportation in the Brahmaputra river from Dhubri to Sadiya during the Ninth plan.

Opening of Indo-Bangladesh River Route :

From the very beginning, Assam was having a water transport link between Calcutta and Guwahati via then East Pakistan. But subsequently, the route was disrupted resulting a huge inconveniencies and loss to the economy of Assam.

Recently, Bangladesh Government has agreed , in principle, to revive the Road and river routes between India and Bangladesh thereby opening a new era of trade relations with north-eastern states of India. The salient features of the agreement includes, amongst others the protocol for clearance for there corridors in Bangladesh to facilitate loading and unloading ships originating from north-eastern states of India. River traffic between the rest of India and part of Assam, Tripura and Bangladesh along the Brahmaputra and other rivers will increase, resulting in precious savings of fuel costs and travel time. Tea industry circles of this region are confident that exports Bangladesh, commanding better prices in the international market.

In view of the ongoing development, the State Transport department has rightly laid stress on developing the waterways of the Brahmaputra to link Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Dhubri with Dhaka and Haldia so that transportation of merchandise to and fore the State becomes easier and less costly. Cargo shipping in the Brahmaputra needs to be made functional without delay, and the inland container depot, set up at Amingarh made full use of so as to flourish the river ports in Guwahati, Dhubri and Dibrugarh etc. as nerve centers of business of the North-east.

Recently, business associations like ASSOCHAM and the Confederation of Indian Industries ( CII) have shown their interest on the development of Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly and encourage the private sector to set up terminals. Thus the state should try to develop waterways in such a manner so that they have sufficient navigable depth and width, vertical clearance, smooth lends and suitable channels, minimum situation, modern navigational and communication aids and suitable loading and unloading faculties. As all these works require a huge fund thus the private sector under the leadership of the organizations like CII and ASSOCHAM can come forward to participate in these activities. The CII has already mooted the idea to develop Brahmaputra into excellent waterways for cargo shipping, as part of its �Sunrise� progreamme for the North-east. Thus what is required at this moment is an all out effort from all concerned to develop Brahmaputra River system as a viable link for cargo shipping.

Road Transport in Assam

In Assam, the road transport system has to bear the major responsibility of providing an efficient means of transport throughout the stat due to the limitations of its railways and waterways. The construction of all weather roads connecting all parts of the state is the pre-requisite of a good road transport system in Assam. The cost of road construction in Assam is comparatively higher due to peculiar physical conditions, heavy rainfall and floods, necessity of leveling the uneven surfaces, circuiting of roads in the hill areas and necessity of construction of numerous bridges and culverts. Thus, roads and bridges received the lion�s share of the outlay for the transport and communication under all the plans in the State.

Assam is provided with a fairly extensive road net work. During 1991-92, the State had a total P.W.D. road length of 31,528 Kilometer ( including 2033 Kilometers of National Highways ) as against 20225 Kilometers in 1978-79 and 17030 Kilometers 1970-71. Of the 31,528 Kilometers in P.W.D. road length in 1991-92, 7980 kilometers were (or nearly 25 per cent ) were surfaced roads and the rest 23548 Kilometers were unsurfaced roads, These surfaced roads were nearly 25 per cent of the total road length as against the national percentage of 48 per cent . In 1989-90, the length of roads under P,.W.D. per lakh population in Assam was 137.0 kilometers and the length of road per 100 sq. km. area was 38.0 kilometers. The length of roads in Assam increased from 19, 156 kilometers in 1950-51 to 31, 528 kilometers in 1991-92. Again the length of motor able road increased over the same period from 10,972 kilometers to 29062 kilometers, the road system in Assam suffers from various deficiencies like substandard surface, narrow lane etc. However the condition of most the roads in Assam is not satisfactory and requires frequent repair due to ravages caused by floods. Moreover, Many of the roads being small in width with narrow and weak bridges and culverts, needs widening and up gradation.

The Economic Census of 1977 shows an idea about the availability of road facilities in the rural areas of Assam. According to the report, the number of villages connected by metalled roads contributed 14.1 per cent of state�s total villages in 1977. Dibrugarh is the most favorable placed district in these respect with 20.3 per cent of villages connected by metalled road following by Darrang and Sibsagar district, (17.7 per cent each).

As the road net-work of Assam plays a pivotal role in the field of intra-state and inter-state traffic, high priority has been accorded for its development in the Five Year Plans of the State. The Central Government also gave top priority to road development in the brother areas of Assam.

Road transport plays a vital toll in the transport system of the state. In Assam both the public and private sectors are providing road transport services in Assam. Assam State Road Transport Corporation (ASRTC) is the only one public sector organisation which provides both good and passenger traffic in selected routes. Till the end of 1992-93 the Corporation a total route length of 8130 kilometers as against 5586 kilometers in 1980-81. The total fleet strength of the Corporation stood at 961 in 1992-93 which included 899 buses, 11 trucks and 28 cars. The road transport services under the private sector is also playing a crucial role in the movement of passengers and goods traffic in the State. The services rendered by this sector carriage agencies, under the national Permit System, deals with considerable volume of inter-state goods traffic to and from Assam.

The total number of motor vehicles on road in Assam was 2.60 lakh in 1992, which was merely 4.42 per cent higher then that0 of the previous year. In 1992, 19,350 motor vehicles were registered in the State as against 24,075 in 1991.

To meet the deficiency and shortages in the road transport system of the State, a perspective 15 year plan has been formulated for road development in Assam so as to catch up with all-India norms by the Eighth Five year Plan.

Air Transport in Assam

Assam in regularly served by air transport services of the Indian Airlines, These services are operated through six civil airports of the State viz, (I) Guwahati (Borjhar) (ii) Tezpur (Salonibari), (iii) Jorhat (Rowriah ), (iv) Dibrugarh (Mohanbari) (v) Lakhimpur (Lilabari) (vi) Silchar ( Kumbhirgram). The India Airlines operates regular air service between Assam and Calcutta. With the introduction of a direct air service between Assam and Guwahati and Delhi with effect from January , 1981 a long felt demand of the people of Assam has been fulfilled. Besides, Guwahati has also been brought under air-bus schedule of Indian Airlines with effect from June, 1982 and thus became the eleventh city in the country to be served by Airbus. Further, a third level air transport service, known as " Vayudoot" also continued to operate connecting several places of the North- East Region (including Assam) with India Airlines for containing its mounting losses. Thus, the State is now connected by air services with both calcutta and Delhi.

The, the air transport is plating a very important role by providing the quickest mode of transport in the State. But the air ports in Assam are not in a very good shape and thus they require some increased attention for their expansion and improvement of the existing condition. Mean while, steps have been taken to upgrade the Borjhar Airport to an international one.

 Postal and Telecommunication Service in Assam

In respect of postal and telecommunication facilities in Assam, the stat has been recording a steady growth. During 1975-76 the State had a total of 2461post offices which increased to 3115 in 1980-81 and then to 3602 in 1989-90. Out of the total number of pos offices operating in the entire north eastern region ,Assam alone accounts for nearly 59 per cent of the total . Moreover, out of the region�s 21 head post offices, 14 are located in Assam. In 1989-90 the total number of letter boxes and post boxes in the State stood at 11,157 and 507 respectively.

In spite of some important registered in the postal cervices in Assam in the last few years, the position of the State in this regard is found not much satisfactory in compared with the position of the country as a whole .For example, in 1981-82 a post office on an average had to serve about 6.4 thousand persons in Assam compared with 4.2 thousand persons at all India level in 1978-79.

Regarding the availability of telecommunication facilities in the State is concerned a show and gradual increasing trend has been noticed during the past few years. In Assam, the total number of telephone exchanges rose from 133 in 1976 to 156 in 1981-82 and then to 214 in 1989-90. There was, however, on addition to the number of telex exchanges in 1982-83 and remained at 4 as in the previous year. But the number of automatic exchange has increased to 195 in 1989-90.

Plan Outlay on Transport Communication

Under the successive Five Year Plan in Assam, the plan outlay on transport and communication varied significantly. The table given below shows the relevant figures.

Table No. 10.6

Plan Outlay on Transport & Communication, Assam (Lakhs)

Source : Same as tables 9.1,9.3,9.5,9.7,9.9,9.11.

The above table reveals that the transport and Communication did not receive much priority under the successive plans in Assam. Although 17 per cent of total plan outlay was allowed on transport and communication during First Plan but then this share of allocation progressively declined to 4.8 per cent during Ad-hoc plans. The share of outlay on transport and communication again increased to 13.1 per cent and during the Fourth Plan and then gradually declined to 7.2 per cent and 6.3 per cent during the Seventh and Eighth Plan respectively. Taking all the Plans together an amount of Rs. 666.42 crores in being spent for the development of transport and communication system of the state which was about 7.3 per cent of the total plan outlay during first eighth plans.

Although there was a progressive increase in the absolute amount of plan outlay on transport and communication but the plan wise percentage of increase in actual outlay on this sector lagged behind that the total plan outlay in the case of all plans except the Fourth Plan of the State.

Further, the annual average Plan outlay on transport and communication in Assam was only Rs. 69.9 Lakhs during the first Plan and then the same increased to Rs. 131 lakhs in the Second the Plan, Rs.157 lakhs in the Third Plan, Rs . 138 lakhs in the Ad-hoc plans, Rs520 lakhs in the Fourth Plan, Rs. 1,112 lakhs in the Fifth plan and Rs. 2115 lakhs in the Sixth Plan and finally Rs. 3244 lakhs and Rs 5897 lakhs during the Seventh and Eighth Plan.

 Achievements in respect of Transport and Communication under the successive plans

Let us now look into the achievements of the Five Year plans in Assam in developing transport and communication facilities in the State.

First Plan : At the end of First period. Assam had only 10,944 Kilometers of roads as against the target of Nagpur plans to have 21,243 Kilometers of road within a period of twenty year (1943-63)

Further, length of new surfaced roads including National highways increased to 1,685 Kilometers in 1955-56 as against 1529 Kilometers in 1950-51 which shows an increase of 10.20 percent.

Besides, for the improvement of State road transport system in Assam, 432 Kilometers of routes were nationalized as against 550 Kilometers during the period of the First Plan 74 new vehicles were purchased to ply on nationalized routes for the operation of passenger bus services in Assam.

Second Plan : During the Second Plan period, a total road length of 13,015 Kms. were constructed 2,425 kms. on earth roads, If we add 1,1,84 kms. off National High ways constructed during this period to the road length constructed by the state we get the total road length of 11, 774 kms. constructed during this Plan period.

Besides, nearly 966 kms. of existing sub-standard roads were improved and a length of about 296 kms. of roads was black-topped roads Nine major bridges were constructed during this plan period.

Although the Second Plan of Assam fixed the target of extending 2,317 kms, of nationalized roads but at the end of the Plan, total length of nationalized roads was extended only upto 1688 kms. which created a shortfall of 629 kms. of roads.

On inland Water Transport Schemes, total expenditure during this Plan period was to the extent of only Rs. 1.3 lakhs which was spent to tally on development works leading to the setting up of a Directorate of Inland Water Transport for investigating and designing of various navigational projects relating to waterways in the State.

Third plan : During the Third plan in Assam, the transport and communication sector achieved a notable progress. The major road works completed during this plan period under the central plan, Central bodies and on the basis of sharing cost between State and Central Government were as follows : National Highways number 31,37 and 38 falling in the State were completed at the cost of Rs. 31 crores. the completion of the Road - cum Railway bridge over Brahmaputra upon N. H. 31 at the cost of Rs. 16 crores was one most significant achievement of the Third Plan. Besides, R.C.C bridges on North Trunk Road were constructed over rivers Dikrong, Subansiri, Jia- Bhorali at the cost of 2.44 crores.

Besides, the other achievements in the construction of roads and bridge the Third Plan were consisting of formation of road to the extent of 1542 kms. metalling and black topping-285 kms. improvement in the low standard road- 566 kms. construction of rule roads to the extent of 1000 kms. and construction of 9 major bridges.

Due to the execution of all these programmes, the total length of P.W.D. roads including National High ways in Assam increased from 14,858 Second Plan in Assam Plan to 19.024 kms. at the end of the Third Plan.

In respect of Road Transport the length of routes increased from 1949 kms. at the end of Second Plan to 2,934 kms. at the end of the Third Plans in Assam . The number of vehicles was also raised from 584 to 727 during the above mentioned period.

Regarding Inland Water Transport in Assam Rs. 5.64 lakhs was spent during the Third Plan on four schemes relating to hydrological survey, bottom paneling preparation of inland port and on preliminary training in the various system of navigation.

Ad-hoc Plans : During the Ad hoc Plans on new important project was undertaken in the transport and communication sector in Assam, rather the various system of navigation.

In the case of State Road Transport, a sum of Rs. 44,6 lakhs was spent during these Ad-hoc plans.

Further, the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation was set in 1967 to recognize river services in Assam.

Further Plan : During the period of Fourth plan various schemes which were implemented for the improvement of roads and bridges included (a) improvement of 402 kms. length under P.W.D. road by means of gravelling, metalling and black topping (b) construction of 12 more bridges (c) Construction of 950 km. length of new roads and construction of 60 km. length of municipal roads. Total road length under P.W.D. stood at 19,280 km. in 1974 (after the emergence of Meghalaya in 1972).

In the field of State road transport, 317 km. length of new routes were nationalized during the Fourth Plan period and nearly 100 vehicles were purchased for the improvement and expansion of transport faculties in Assam.

For the development of the inland water transport in Assam the Fourth Plan took some schemes like (a) Expansion of crew training Centre (b) Hydrographic Survey, (c) Bottom and surface paneling and (d) construction of ferry vessels.

Fifth Plan : In Assam, During the period of Fifth Plan, nearly 1592 km. of total road length road length was constructed against the target of 1871 km. of which 47 km. was surfaced and the rest 1545 km. was unsurfaced. Thus in 1977-78 total length of roads under P.W.D. stood at 20,225 kms. of which 4,497 kms. was surfaced and the remaining 15,728 kms. was unsurfaced. Besides, more then 1000 kms. of village roads were also constructed under the minimum needs programmes (M.N.P.)

Regarding the State road transport services, the Plan laid importance upon the extension of road transport facilities to the rural and backward areas of the State .During the Fifth Plan period, 651 km. length of new routes was nationalized and nearly 100 buses were put into services of Assam State Road Transport Corporation. Besides, several night deluxe bus service were introduced in many long distance routes of the State during this plan period.

During this Plan period, Inland water Transport system was also developed in many respect resulting in increase in the number of vessels, quantum of cargo carried by the vessels and the number of passengers carried.

Sixth Plan : During the Sixth Plan period in Assam, total amount of expenditure incurred for the development of transport and communication facilities in the state was Rs. 105.77 crores as against the provision of Rs. 101 crores. Thus, the amount of expenditure exceeded the allocation under this head. During the Sixth Plan, with the extension of B.G. railway line from New Bongaigaon to road transport, total length of B.G. line has increased to 269.22 Kms. In respect of Guwahati in 1984, in length of road constructed under PWD increased to 26,353 kms. and out of which 5. 773 kms. was surfaced. Moreover, the Forest Department constructed about 3,988 kms. of road in 1983-84.

The Assam State Transport Corporation nationalized 7414 kms. of road till 1984-85 and operated 705 vehicles on these routes.

Seventh Plan: The Seventh Plan allocated Rs. 16,220 lakh for the development of transport and communication system in Assam. Out of this Rs.13,500 lakh was allocated for the construction of roads and bridges. Rs 1720 lakh was allocated for road transport and system. Rs 1000 lakh for the development of internal water transport and Rs. 400 lakh for the development of tourism project.

Total length of roads under PWD of Assam has increased from 26,353 kms. in 1985 to30,086 kms. in 1989-90 . The Assam State Transport Corporation introduced bus service to 165 new routes. Total number of buses of this corporation increased from 492 in 1985 to 890 in 1990. Total route length of the bus service run by this corporation in the hill districts of the Stare has also increased from 748 kms,. in 1985 to 1130 kms. in 1990.

During this plan period, additional ferry services at 38 new points of Brahmaputra and Barak rivers were introduced. Moreover, since 24th June, 1986 one commercial services of water transport between Guwahati and Dibrugarh was introduced. In order to develop water transport system, two water transport sub-division were set up at Goalpara and Hailakandi and the works for building 20 small ships and boats were started. Thus, it is observed that at the end of Seventh Plan, the road transport and the water transport system achieved considerable progress.

Eight Plan : The Eight Plan of Assam has allocated Rs. 294.84 crores for the development of transportation and communication system of the state. During the Eighth Plan, sufficient stress was laid on the development of road transport and water transport. Again during the second year of the Eighth Plan, the extension of Broad gauge line from Guwahati to Dimapur was completed under the Uni gauge project. Moreover , the extension of this B.G. line to Dibrugarh would be completed within the Eighth Plan. With the completion of this entire 545 kms. uni-gauge project in the State, total length of B.G. railway line would increase to 811.4. kms.

 Problems of Transportation System in Assam

In respect of transportation system, Assam in one of the most backward state of India. Poor transportation system is also one of the responsible factors behind the economic backwardness of the state . Although Assam has developed four different types of transportation system , viz, Railways, Road transport, Water transport and Air transport but the transportation system of the state as a whole is facing the following problems.

(a) Geographical Position : Geographical in Assam as surrounded by full of hills and rivers are standing in the way for the development of sound transportation system in the country from the very beginning. Construction of railways and roads by crossing number of rivers and hilly regions is very costly in a state like Assam. Thus Assam is facing natural obstacles while constructing its transportation system.

(b) Natural calamities : Assam is one of those states which is facing the problems of flood, soil erosion, earth- quake Landsides et. for which the whole transportation system is totally dislocated every tear. Moreover, due to flood, every year some parts of roads and railways are badly damaged leading to a annual repair of these transportation system which is a very costly affair.

(c) Border state : Assam is a border state . Huge international of border with Bangladesh, Bhutan etc. has created the need for the construction of border roads on defence grounds. This created an additional problem of transportation in the state.

(d) Inadequate rail transport : Rail transport system in Assam is totally inadequate considering its requirements. Moreover partition of country in 1947 has disrupted the rail link between Assam and other states of the country. In 1950 alternative link line was constructed . Total railway route length in Assam (2466 kms. in 1992 ) constructed nearly 4 per cent of the total railway route length of the country . The position of the State in respect of broads gauge route length is very much disappointing since it accounted for even less than I per cent of the country�s total . In Assam the broad gauge line as in percentage of total railway route length is nearly 11 per cent in comparison to that of 50 per cent in the whole country.

(e) Lack of all- Weather roads : Although Assam is having a fairly extensive road net work but only 22 per cent of these roads are surfaced and the remaining 78 per cent are unsurfaced roads. Thus due to lack of weather roads, various interior areas has to face total dislocation transport system particularly during summer season. Thus the road transport system in Assam suffers from various deficiencies like substandard surface, narrow lane, frequent damage etc. However, the conditions of most of the roads in Assam is not satisfactory and requires frequent repair due to ravages caused by floods. Moreover many of the roads being small in width with narrow and weak bridges and culverts needs widening and up gradation Further in 1983, the Length of road per lakh of population in Assam was only 199.03 kms. as against 6837 kms. for all India.

(f) Lack of navigable waterways : Water transport system in Assam was well development during the British day . But after the partition of the country and particularly after the Indo-Pakistan war in 1965, there was total disruption in the inter- state transportation system. Moreover, the length of the weather navigable waterways is declining with constant dilation of soil through erosion of soil in the hilly areas. At present nearly 46 per cent of the total navigable waterways in Assam are navigable throughout the year.

(g) Higher unit cost of transport : Unit cost of transport in Assam is very high in comparison to that of other states in the country. High unit cost of transport raises the cost structure for all industrial and developmental projects in the state which acts as a disincentive to external private investment and works as a dampener towards the establishment of new industries in the state.

 Measures to Solve Transportation Problem in Assam

Transportation problem is Assam in quite genuine and of serious nature, Industrialization process of this state is being halted due to lack of proper transportation system and more so being a geographically isolated state. Thus in order to achieve all round development of this the state, the transportation system of Assam must be improved at any cost. The following are some of the important measures to be following in this direction:

1. Steps must be taken to expand the railway network in Assam and other north- eastern state and implement the gauge conversion and other approved railway project speedily.

2. Immediate steps must be taken to construct all weather roads, connecting the different corners of the State as well as of the region and also to expand the existing road net work of the State.

3. Adequate steps must be taken to revive the inland water transport system for both passenger and cargo traffic and re- establish the water transport link between Haldia -Dhubri and Dibrugarh via Bangladesh for realizing the benefit of cheapest mode of transport .

$ The Union Government must expand the air transport network throughout the region by inviting private airliners into the field and for that new airports should be constructed in those untapped viable areas.

5. Steps must be taken to construct R.C.C. road bridges replacing the wooden bridges to avoid disruption during flood, Under the Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services Project (ARIASP) , 23timber bridges are being converted R.C.C. bridges. During 1997-98 it is proposed to take up conversion of 100 timber bridges to R.C.C. bridges and improvement of 450 km.

6. Steps must be taken to allow and invite the private sector participation in the development of different costly transportation projects under Build-Operate and Transfer (BOT) scheme.

7. Union and the State Government should also consider the proposal for construction of Super- Highways or Expressways to establish a secure road link between the north -eastern region and other neighboring states of the country.

8. Finally , the law and order condition of the state / region be improved for the smooth passage of overall existing transportation system and a suitable and secure investment environment should be created for the early implementation of future transportation projects both under general and BOT scheme.