Guwahati: The Assam government on Tuesday told the Legislative Assembly that Guwahati has been placed in the “semi-critical” category for groundwater availability, while all other parts of the state continue to remain in the “safe” category, according to the Central Ground Water Board’s Dynamic Ground Water Resources of Assam, 2025 report.
The information was shared during Question Hour on the seventh day of the Budget Session, when ministers also provided updates on groundwater contamination, maternal health programmes, the Orunodoi scheme, budget expenditure and soil conservation.
Replying to a question by AGP MLA Diptimayee Choudhury, Public Health Engineering Minister Krishnendu Paul said the state withdraws 2.93 billion cubic metres (BCM) of groundwater every year. He informed the House that arsenic contamination has been reported in 4,586 habitations and fluoride contamination in 306 habitations out of Assam‘s total 88,419 habitations. The government, he said, is implementing measures to address both issues.
Health Minister Ashok Singhal, responding to a query by Congress MLA Abdur Rahim Ahmed, said the state has rolled out multiple initiatives to improve maternal health and reduce maternal deaths. These include the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK), the wage compensation scheme for pregnant women working in tea gardens, maternal death review and surveillance, the Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) programme and comprehensive abortion care services.
On social welfare, Finance Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah informed the Assembly that 39,51,968 people had been covered under Orunodoi 3.0 as of March this year. Replying to AIUDF MLA Mazibur Rahman, he said the list of beneficiaries is updated continuously after verification, fresh applications and grievance redressal.
He said the scheme has expanded steadily, covering 20 lakh beneficiaries under Orunodoi 1.0, 27 lakh under Orunodoi 2.0 and more than 39 lakh under its current phase. The monthly financial assistance has also been increased from Rs 830 to Rs 1,000 and later to Rs 1,250. Any further revision, he added, will depend on the state’s fiscal position and future expansion plans.
Mallabaruah also told the House that the Finance Department cannot specify why several departments failed to utilise their entire budget allocations between the 2021-22 and 2024-25 financial years. Responding to a starred question from Congress MLA Dr Asif Md Nazar, he said department-wise comparisons of sanctioned allocations and actual expenditure have been placed before the Assembly as an annexure.
He added that figures on unspent funds for 2025-26 are yet to be compiled because the accounts are still being finalised by the Office of the Principal Accountant General (A&E), Assam. Since spending decisions are handled by individual departments, the Finance Department does not maintain records on the reasons for underspending.
Meanwhile, Soil Conservation Minister Ashwini Ray Sarkar said the department has carried out plantation activities across more than 5,800 hectares in Assam between 2016 and 2026. Replying to BJP MLA Chakradhar Gogoi, he also informed the Assembly that 202 posts in the department are vacant and will be filled after obtaining approval from the state government.