Guwahati, Assam Cabinet on Wednesday decided to refer a case related to closure of 5 MW Bordikorai hydropower project due to lack of environmental clearance to the CBI, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The power project was proposed to be set up in Biswanath district and a private company was entrusted with the task in 2009, but in 2012, the forest department pointed out that no environmental clearance had been obtained for the project, the chief minister said at a conference. press release after the cabinet meeting.
The project was abruptly closed in 2015 as it was not viable and the Gauhati High Court ordered the government to pay compensation of Rs 100 crore to the company, he said.
At that time, Tarun Gogoi was heading a Congress government in the state.
''We have referred the case to the CBI to investigate the circumstances that led to the abrupt closure of the project when an environmental clearance could have been obtained,'' Sarma said.
He noted that the matter is not politically motivated and no politician is involved in it.
''The then chief minister (Tarun Gogoi), who was also power minister, had signed the closure order. He is no more. Some bureaucrats, however, have to give explanations for closing it," he added.
The cabinet also decided to extend the agreement between the state government and Tata Trusts to set up cancer care hospitals in Assam for another five years. The pact recently ended.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed soon and Tata Trusts, which has already established or is in the process of constructing 17 such hospitals, will continue the collaboration.
The Assam government is spending Rs 2,803 crore and Tata Trusts Rs 1,100 crore on the projects.
The state government will also set up 50-bed ICUs in 22 districts of the state at a cost of Rs 23 crore in each district through Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, Sarma said.
The council of ministers also decided to waive examination fees for students from scheduled castes or scheduled tribes for all recruitment tests in the state, the chief minister added.
The power project was proposed to be set up in Biswanath district and a private company was entrusted with the task in 2009, but in 2012, the forest department pointed out that no environmental clearance had been obtained for the project, the chief minister said at a conference. press release after the cabinet meeting.
The project was abruptly closed in 2015 as it was not viable and the Gauhati High Court ordered the government to pay compensation of Rs 100 crore to the company, he said.
At that time, Tarun Gogoi was heading a Congress government in the state.
''We have referred the case to the CBI to investigate the circumstances that led to the abrupt closure of the project when an environmental clearance could have been obtained,'' Sarma said.
He noted that the matter is not politically motivated and no politician is involved in it.
''The then chief minister (Tarun Gogoi), who was also power minister, had signed the closure order. He is no more. Some bureaucrats, however, have to give explanations for closing it," he added.
The cabinet also decided to extend the agreement between the state government and Tata Trusts to set up cancer care hospitals in Assam for another five years. The pact recently ended.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed soon and Tata Trusts, which has already established or is in the process of constructing 17 such hospitals, will continue the collaboration.
The Assam government is spending Rs 2,803 crore and Tata Trusts Rs 1,100 crore on the projects.
The state government will also set up 50-bed ICUs in 22 districts of the state at a cost of Rs 23 crore in each district through Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, Sarma said.
The council of ministers also decided to waive examination fees for students from scheduled castes or scheduled tribes for all recruitment tests in the state, the chief minister added.
