Until a little over four years ago, the Bodoland region along the north bank of the Brahmaputra in Assam was a hotbed of insurgency. Today, former militants, many of them now members of the autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) which governs the area, are scripting a new development story.

Set up in December 2003 after the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) agreed to lay down arms, the BTC is pulling out all the stops to rope in the private sector in infrastructure and industrial development of the region through the public private partnership (PPP) route.

Last month, a Hyderabad-based company was selected through a competitive bid process to set up a small (4 MW) hydropower project in Champamati village, making it the first PPP project in the Bodoland region. Having received encouraging interest from private companies, the Council is now in the process of calling bids for three similar projects in Borolia, Rupahi and Pohumora towns.

That’s not all. BTC is also experimenting with a new concept for another upcoming project. A 62-acre property in Kokrajhar district, located strategically on NH 31 — the only highway connecting the Northeast to the rest of India, has been acquired from tribals, many of who are former militants, on a long-term lease. Private companies have been invited to “use their imagination” to come up with any proposal for infrastructure or industrial development on that property.

With many other projects including food processing hubs and textile parks in the pipeline, the BTC has emerged as the most aggressive promoter of private participation in the region.

... contd.