Guwahati: In what may be called an attempt to counter the impact of the anti-CAA movements, the BJP-led alliance government in Assam has embarked upon an ambitious plan to spend Rs 710 crore on developing more than 900 religious institutions by connecting it with road and better infrastructure.
Under the scheme named as “Asom Darshan Scheme”, the state government has proposed enhancement of the annuity grant given to devalayas by Rs 2 lakh, a grant of Rs 10 lakh to upgrade infrastructure of 915 religious places and Rs 615-crore for road works to improve connectivity to these places.
Informing that among the 915 religious institutions which will get Rs 10 lakh for infrastructure upgrade are 459 temples, 186 satras, 123 naamghars, 47 mosques and 26 churches, Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “The annuity grant giv-en to them was not sufficient to maintain these places which are visited by large numbers of devotees round the year. Therefore, the government has decided to increase the annuity amount by Rs 2 lakh for each religious institution.”
