Dibrugarh: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said his govt was working to replace colonial-era administrative systems and infrastructure with institutions suited to independent India.Speaking at the inauguration of the Integrated District Commissioner’s Office Complex in Jorhat, Sarma said the Rs 49.22-crore facility brought several govt functions under one roof.“PM Narendra Modi has called upon us to gradually move away from the colonial legacy after 75 years of Independence. He has spoken about moving away from buildings and systems that reminded people of subjection and inferiority and creating administrative systems and institutions rooted in independent India. Assam is implementing that vision through projects such as this new DC office complex,” Sarma said.The complex houses the DC’s office, Revenue, Sub-Registrar, Census, Treasury, Aadhaar, Supply and Election branches, along with a Public Facilitation Centre, auditorium, conference hall, NIC facilities, a 50-kW solar power system and parking for 75 four-wheelers and 150 two-wheelers. A three-storey residential building for Grade IV employees has also been built.Sarma recalled Jorhat’s administrative history, saying Major Alan Playfair oversaw the shifting of the headquarters of the undivided Sivasagar district from Rangpur to Jorhat in 1911.The red-brick Ronga Bhawan, built in 1914, later became the centre of district administration and continued to house the DC office after Jorhat became a separate district in 1983.“Today, moving forward from that history, we are creating a new history for independent India,” Sarma said.He said Ronga Bhawan would be converted into a museum and experience centre. Another govt building would be constructed beside the new complex to house Health, Education and other offices, to consolidate district-level services in two or three locations.Sarma also inaugurated the Rs 65-crore Cinnamara Railway Overbridge on the Jorhat-Mariani-Mokokchung road. The 545-metre, two-lane bridge has a 7.5-metre roadway and a 1.5-metre footpath. It is expected to eliminate waiting at the railway level crossing and improve connectivity to Mariani and Titabar.He said it was the fourth flyover or railway overbridge completed in Jorhat under govt. The other projects were the Na-Ali ROB, inaugurated in Aug 2023; the ROB near Jorhat Medical College, opened in April 2025; and the Maniram Dewan-Piyali Phukan flyover, inaugurated in March 2026.The CM also inaugurated the new building of Luit Poria Mising Higher Secondary School and the girls’ hostel of Sivasagar University.The four projects inaugurated or dedicated on Sunday involved a combined expenditure of Rs 122.20 crore.
