The Assam Cabinet on Friday, 5 June approved a two-percentage-point hike in Dearness Allowance for state government employees — raising it from 58% to 60% — and cleared the creation of a dedicated development authority for Dibrugarh, the state's designated second capital, backed by a ₹500 crore outlay over five years. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced both decisions while addressing reporters after the Cabinet meeting in Guwahati.

DA Hike: What Changes for Employees

State government employees will see an immediate increase in their monthly take-home pay following the Cabinet's decision. CM Sarma confirmed the hike takes effect at once, stating: 'Till now, state government employees were receiving 58 per cent Dearness Allowance. Following the Cabinet decision, they will now receive 60 per cent DA, and the hike will take effect immediately.'

The revision aligns Assam's DA structure closer to the periodic revisions typically triggered by All India Consumer Price Index movements, though the state sets its own schedule independent of Central government timelines.

Dibrugarh Second Capital: The New Authority

The Cabinet approved the formation of the Dibrugarh Second State Capital Region Development Authority to operationalise the second capital status that Dibrugarh was granted during the previous term of the Assam government. The authority's jurisdiction will be confined to Dibrugarh district, even where boundary areas extend beyond a 20-km radius from the city centre.

The body will be headed by the Commissioner of Dibrugarh and will include representatives from the Zilla Parishad, Dibrugarh Municipal Corporation, and heads of various government departments as ex-officio members. A Chief Executive Officer will be appointed to handle day-to-day administration.

₹500 Crore Earmarked Over Five Years

The state has ring-fenced ₹500 crore exclusively for Dibrugarh's development as the second capital, to be spent over the next five years. Sarma was explicit that this allocation is over and above routine government expenditure on roads, schools, colleges, medical facilities, and other infrastructure in the district.

'The ₹500 crore package will be exclusively for the development of Dibrugarh as the second state capital and will be spent over a period of five years,' he said.

Interim Leadership and Governance Structure

For the present, Dibrugarh MLA Prasanta Phukan will serve as chairman of the authority. Sarma indicated this is a transitional arrangement — the chairmanship will eventually become a formally designated position within the authority's permanent structure.

The Cabinet's decisions are framed as part of a broader push for administrative decentralisation and accelerated infrastructure development in Upper Assam, a region that has historically argued for greater state attention relative to the Guwahati-centric development model.

Broader Significance

Dibrugarh's second-capital status is not merely symbolic — it is intended to redistribute administrative activity and public investment toward the eastern end of the state. The creation of a statutory authority with a dedicated budget signals that the government is moving beyond the declaration stage to institutional execution. Notably, this is the first time a formal development body with a defined budget has been constituted for the second capital, marking a concrete step after what critics had characterised as a largely ceremonial announcement in the previous term.