Guwahati: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated the new Integrated district commissioner’s office building for Kamrup (Metro) district at Rupnagar in Guwahati on Wednesday.The three-storey building was constructed at a cost of Rs 81.20 crore and has a built-up area of around 12,700 square metres. It has been designed to accommodate two additional floors in the future. The complex also has a 350-kilowatt solar power system, with provision to increase its capacity by another 100 kilowatts.Speaking at the inauguration, Sarma said the earlier office of the district commissioner of Kamrup (Metro) at Panbazar was considerably small and had been temporarily shifted to Hengrabari in 2022 to facilitate the development and opening of the Brahmaputra riverfront.He said the foundation stone for the new office at Rupnagar was laid in Jan 2023.Sarma, who laid the foundation stone, said the inauguration was an example of the govt fulfilling its promises within the stipulated timeframe.Recounting the history of the district commissioner’s office, Sarma said construction of the Kamrup district commissioner’s office at Panbazar began in 1954, during the tenure of then CM Bishnuram Medhi, and the building was inaugurated on June 12, 1956.Administered from this district, Nalbari, Kamrup, Barpeta and Bajali were subsequently carved out of Kamrup district.Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance” after he assumed office in 2014, Sarma said soon after becoming CM in 2021, he commissioned a study to determine how many people visited Janata Bhawan and the reasons for their visits.The study found that around 5,000 to 6,000 people visited Janata Bhawan every day for various official purposes, he said.Following this, the govt delegated powers from the Secretariat to the offices of district commissioners, chief engineers and directorates through a series of administrative reforms in 2022.As a result, the number of visitors to the Secretariat declined significantly. At present, an average of around 600 to 700 people visit the Secretariat daily, Sarma said.
