Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday (March 25, 2025) said the State government’s drive against corruption had led to the arrests of more than 450 government employees since 2021.
Also Read | Four, including two govt. officials, held for graft in purchase of scientific equipment
He said vigilance and anti-corruption personnel recovered ₹12 crore cash and 224.74 grams of gold from these employees.
“Since 2021, 24 Class I officers, 349 Class II officers, and 349 Class III and IV employees have been arrested on corruption-related charges. Out of them, 31 have been convicted so far,” he said during a discussion in the 126-member Assembly.
Mr. Sarma also said the government’s war on drugs had netted drugs worth ₹2,600 crore and 19,000 peddlers since 2021, compared with ₹400 crore worth of seizures from 2011 to 2015.
“How can you accuse such a government of running syndicates? We have checked rhino poaching, too. Only two cases of rhino poaching have been reported since 2023, while 20 were killed in 2012, 24 in 2013, and 25 in 2014,” he said.
The Tarun Gogoi-led Congress ruled the State from 2001 to 2016.
Mr. Sarma said Mr. Gogoi, a three-time Chief Minister, and Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain, who was Forest Minister thrice, could have easily stopped rhino poaching. “We have the same police, but poaching has come down to almost nil today,” Mr. Sarma said.
The Chief Minister also said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government had cracked down on the betel nut, illicit liquor, and cattle smuggling syndicates, apart from checking illegal coal mining.
He said 6,000 tonnes of illegal betel nuts smuggled in via Myanmar had been seized, along with the arrest of 700 persons since 2021, while 4,300 cattle smugglers had been arrested during the period, compared with 77 arrests during 2011-16.
Mr. Sarma also said 228 people had been arrested and 3.3 million tonnes of illegally mined coal had been seized since 2021, compared with “zero arrests” from 2010 to 2015.
Claiming that the crime rate had reduced from 1.2 lakh First Information Reports (FIRs) in 2016 to about 40,000 now, he said the conviction rate has increased from 6% to 25% in almost a decade.
Published – March 25, 2025 07:16 pm IST
