Three weeks in office and Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has one of the best prescriptions he so badly needs to pull the state out of the morass.
The North East Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NECCI) has come out withan agenda for "the next 100 days" urging him to concentrate on pulling the state out of a devastating economy and converting it into a vibrant one.
An NECCI document prepared after a day-long brain-storming session held here soon after the new government took over has also urged chief minister Gogoi to concentrate on four core areas: agriculture, tourism, information technology and fiscal administration.
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"The first priority of the new government will be to remove the image that Assam is a slow-paced state with an insurgency-inflicted atmosphere trying to catch the bus. It will be a stupendous task for the new government to work on this image factor and offer an investment-friendly image," the 32-page document, aptly titled The next 100 days and beyond: An agenda for the new government, said.
As regards agriculture, the Chamber has suggested identifying NGOs and entrepreneurs for the propagation of organic farming, set up agriculture clinics in every district headquarter, establish an agriculture export board to promote export of the state agro-products and bring about land reforms in the light of small land holdings.Similarly, on the tourism front too, the government has been asked to set up a task force to identify steps for speedy tourism development and create a tourism development fund to bridge the critical infrastructure gaps.
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The NECCI document has also urged the government to set up a high-powered IT cell and take steps to attract private investment for establishing call centres and medical transcription facilities. The government should also take up on a priority basis upgradation of computer science teaching facilities in the state's engineering colleges, it said.
But the most important suggestion is regarding the state's fiscal situation. Urging the government to review its revenue-spending, the Chamber has suggested setting up of a high-powered fiscal responsibility group to monitor fiscal discipline and ensure transparency. "There are no overnight solutions for economic growth and fiscal correction. Radical changes in the policy have to be seriously pursued and this will necessarily involve some pain and trauma for the state and its people if the long-run objective of a vibrant economy is to be achieved," the Chamber said.
This incidentally is the second blueprint that Gogoi has received since he took over on May 18. The Federation of Industry and Commerce of Northeastern Region (FINER) another trade body had earlier formulated another economic agenda for the new government which suggested zero-based budgeting, cutting down non-plan expenditure, reduction of revenue deficit and bringing about massive administrative reforms and down-sizing government staff.
