450 govt staff arrested for corruption since 2021, Rs 12 crore cash seized: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said more than 450 government employees have been arrested since 2021 on corruption charges, and around Rs 12 crore cash seized from their possession.
    
During a discussion in the assembly, Sarma said his government has taken a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption.
    
"Since 2021, 24 Class I officers, 349 Class II officers and 349 Class III and IV staff have been arrested for corruption-related charges. From them 224.74 gram of gold were recovered along with seizure of Rs 12 crore cash. Out of them, 31 have been convicted so far," he said.
    
Sarma also said Rs 2,600 crore worth of drugs have been seized and 19,000 peddlers nabbed since 2021, as against Rs 400 crore of seizures from 2011 to 2015.
    
"How can you attack such a government over a syndicate? In rhino poaching, there were only two cases in 2024 and zero in 2023, as against 25 in 2014, 24 in 2013 and 20 in 2012," he asserted.
    
Trying to corner the former Congress government, Sarma said Tarun Gogoi was the CM three times and Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain was the forest minister three times, and “they could have easily stopped rhino poaching. The same police are with us, but poaching has dropped to almost nil”.

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He said there was no arrest at all in the betel nut syndicate from 2010 to 2016, but 700 people have been apprehended since 2021, when the second BJP government took charge.
    
"We have also seized 6,000 tonnes of illegal ‘supari’ and 724 cases have been registered so far. During the recent Advantage Assam summit, we signed MoUs to set up two ‘supari’ units in Assam. Now, there will be no need to smuggle it out of the state," Sarma said.
    
Regarding illicit liquor, the CM said three lakh litres have been confiscated in the last four years compared to only 950 litres during 2011-15.
    
"In terms of cow smuggling, 4,300 people have been nabbed against only 77 arrests in the 2011-16 period. Now, not a single cow is coming to Assam from West Bengal except the milching ones," he said.
    
Talking about illegal coal mining, Sarma said 228 arrests were made and 3.3 million tonnes seized since 2021 as against “zero arest from 2010 to 2015”.
    
He, however, said that the Umrangso coal tragedy took place due to rat-hole mining, and nine workers lost their lives.
    
"We have already paid Rs 10 lakh to each family. We have formed a judicial committee and the Gauhati High Court has initiated a PIL," Sarma said.
    
On judiciary, the chief minister said the conviction rate has increased to 25 per cent from around six per cent earlier.
    
"The crime rates have also gone down substantially. In 2016, 1.2 lakh FIRs were registered. It is now 40,000 cases," Sarma added.