The much-publicised pig meat processing plant at Nazira in Assam’s Sivasagar district— inaugurated by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on March 12, 2024 — remains non-functional nearly a year later, raising serious questions about the state government’s planning and execution.
The modern plant, built over eight bighas of land at a cost of ₹11.44 crore with both Central and State government funding, was conceived as a flagship project to boost Assam’s pig farming economy. It was designed to process and export pork to Southeast Asian markets while meeting the rising demand across the Northeast.
At the inauguration, CM Sarma had announced an ambitious roadmap.
“The plant will initially operate on a small scale and later emerge as a major brand. It will require 200–300 pigs daily. Sivasagar alone has 60,000 pigs. We will supply improved piglets, promote captive piggery and purchase pigs at minimum support prices,” the Chief Minister said.
The project promised direct employment to around 100 people and income support to nearly 16,000 farming families. Under the Centre’s Act East Policy, processed meat was to be exported to Myanmar, China, Laos, Cambodia, Bhutan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore, besides high-value Western markets.
Yet today, the facility remains idle — with no production, no procurement of pigs, and no visible operational framework. What was projected as a transformative agri-industrial hub has instead turned into a white elephant.
More worrying is the administrative vacuum surrounding the project. When contacted, the District Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Office at Nazira claimed it had no information about the plant and directed queries to the Assam Livestock and Poultry Corporation in Guwahati.
For a district-level department to be unaware of a multi-crore project under its own administrative domain has triggered sharp criticism from local residents.
Farmers and villagers in Nazira are now demanding that the government immediately make the plant operational, warning that continued neglect will not only waste public money but also betray thousands of pig farmers who were promised a stable market and assured prices.
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