The Chief Minister's Office of Assam on Monday, 15 June 2026 shared key announcements made by Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma during a recent Facebook Live session, revealing plans to develop Dibrugarh as the state's second capital with an allocation of ₹500 crore for development works, alongside major infrastructure and employment initiatives spanning aviation, healthcare, and higher education.

Context

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma used the Facebook Live interaction to outline a multi-pronged development agenda for Assam. He stated that Dibrugarh, the commercial nerve centre of Upper Assam, is being developed as the state's second capital, with ₹500 crore set aside for associated development works. The announcement signals a deliberate policy push to shift administrative and economic weight away from Guwahati and toward the state's eastern districts.

The Chief Minister also announced plans for a new airport in Silchar, the principal city of the Barak Valley in southern Assam, aimed at improving connectivity to a region that has long remained geographically isolated. Separately, Rupsi Airport in Dhubri district — a former Indian Air Force airfield — is being developed as a logistics and cargo hub.

Policy Backdrop

The airport initiatives align with the national UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) regional connectivity scheme, under which several underserved Assam airfields have been identified for civil aviation use since 2016. Repurposing Rupsi Airport as a logistics hub fits within this framework and could open freight corridors to the economically sensitive Assam-Bhutan-Bangladesh border region.

On healthcare, CM Sarma highlighted ongoing efforts to set up new medical colleges in Hailakandi, Hojai, Bajali, and Goalpara. These additions continue Assam's post-2016 district-wise medical college expansion, pursued partly under centrally sponsored schemes to raise MBBS intake in underserved areas and address long-standing spatial imbalances in health infrastructure across the state.

Stakeholders and Impact

CM Sarma announced preparations to create around two lakh job opportunities for Assam's youth in the coming period, reflecting the state government's recurring focus on absorbing a large young population entering the labour market each year. He further noted ongoing efforts to strengthen higher education infrastructure alongside the healthcare push.

Residents of Upper Assam stand to benefit most directly from the Dibrugarh second-capital proposal, while the Barak Valley population — historically underserved on connectivity — could see significant change if the Silchar airport project advances. Students and medical aspirants in Hailakandi, Hojai, Bajali, and Goalpara districts would gain access to medical education closer to home.

What's Next

Key milestones to watch include the tendering and fund utilisation process for the ₹500 crore Dibrugarh development package, formal approvals and land acquisition proceedings for the new Silchar airport, and the rollout of recruitment timelines tied to the two-lakh jobs target. Progress on the four new medical colleges — from regulatory clearances to construction — will also be closely tracked by stakeholders across the affected districts.

Together, these announcements suggest that Assam's development strategy under CM Himanta Biswa Sarma is increasingly oriented toward decentralised growth, with the state's eastern and southern peripheries positioned as the next frontier of infrastructure investment.