With ₹131 cr in 2 years, Himanta Sarma crosses ex-CM’s five-year cost in ads

The Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Assam government has spent ₹130.59 crore in advertisements during the last two years, while his predecessor Sarbananda Sonowal government spent ₹125.6 crore in its entire five year tenure, a minister said on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a query by Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi in Assam Assembly, Information and Public Relations Minister Pijush Hazarika said the present government of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma released a total of ₹132 crore for advertisements during 2021-22 and 2022-23 to his department.

The Information and Public Relations Department (DIPR) has so far placed advertisements on different media worth ₹130.59 crore in the last two financial year, he added.

Hazarika further said that the BJP government headed by former Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who is currently a Union minister, released a total of ₹132.3 crore to the DIPR during the entire five-year period.

The total cost of all government published advertisements from 2016-17 to 2020-21 stood at ₹125.6 crore, he added.

The advertisements were placed in daily newspapers, magazines, TV channels, FM radio and other media, the minister informed the House.

In total, the BJP government has spent ₹256.19 crore in advertisements against allocation of ₹264.3 crore since it came to power for the first time in 2016, he added.