Assam town rides BJP’s development showcase

Jagiroad's new semiconductor plant sparks hope for economic revival, though skepticism remains about job creation and local benefits.

JAGIROAD (ASSAM)

Jursing Bordoloi undertook a mission in March 2024 to dissuade people in and around Jagiroad, a town 55 km east of Guwahati, from selling off their lands and houses. It was a few days after the Centre approved a ₹27,000-crore semiconductor plant to be set up by the Tata Group.

Jagiroad, in Morigaon district, was developed as an industrial centre in the 1960s with a spun-silk mill, followed by a cooperative jute mill, a polyester spinning mill, and a cooperative sugar mill. These were not as huge as the paper mill–Hindustan Paper Corporation–established in 1985.

These mills, however, folded up one by one, depriving the town of a large captive market of employees and their families. The local economy suffered the most after the paper mill shut down in 2017.

“Depression set in, and people began selling off their lands, houses, and shops. It was tough motivating them to hold on, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a blow to the already dying town,” Mr. Bordoloi, an advisor to the titular Tiwa king, told The Hindu. The Tiwas are the dominant tribe in Morigaon district.

He said the townspeople saw a ray of hope when the State government, in January 2023, announced it had begun the process to develop 1,000 acres of land in Jagiroad, including 500 acres of the dead paper mill, into a world-class integrated business city with help from Singapore.