Guwahati: Underground power cables and a proposed metro corridor are among the major infrastructure initiatives announced by the Assam government for Guwahati in the 2026-27 Budget, as it seeks to improve the city’s transport and utility network.
Finance Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah unveiled the initiatives while presenting the 2026-27 Assam Budget in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.
He announced that Rs 2,500 crore has been set aside to replace Guwahati’s overhead electricity network with underground cables as part of a wider effort to upgrade the city’s infrastructure.
Besides improving the appearance of the city, the underground cabling project is expected to make the power distribution network safer and more resilient.
Rather than being executed at once, the work will be taken up in stages. The first phase carries an allocation of Rs 200 crore under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).
Power lines will initially be shifted underground along Paltan Bazar Square, the Paltan Bazar-Bharalumukh stretch of AT Road, MG Road between Bharalumukh and Padumphukhuri, GS Road from Paltan Bazar to GMCH including the GMCH Road section, and GS Road between Bhangagarh and the Dispur Secretariat.
The Budget also includes a proposal to study whether the planned Guwahati Ring Road can accommodate a metro rail corridor either above or alongside the route.
The minister said such a system is being explored to ease traffic congestion while supporting the development of future satellite townships expected to emerge along the ring road.
Planned over a distance of 121 km, the ring road project will feature a 55-km northern greenfield bypass, a 3-km six-lane bridge across the Brahmaputra, and the expansion of NH-27 into six lanes, measures that are expected to improve transport links across Guwahati and neighbouring areas.