A major move by the Assam government has largely gone unnoticed in the media, but it is set to transform the administrative setup in Silchar – the nerve centre of Assam’s Bengali-dominated Barak Valley, which comprises Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi districts, with an extension of sorts in the hills of Dima Hasao.
It marks a significant step towards decentralising the functioning of the Assam government and reducing the region’s dependence on Dispur.
What was conceived as a ‘mini secretariat’ during the first BJP-led government of Sarbananda Sonowal has been scaled up under the Himanta Biswa Sarma regime into a full-fledged secretariat for the Barak Valley. It marks a significant step towards decentralising the functioning of the state government and reducing the region’s dependence on Dispur. This is one of the first major decisions by Sarma in his second term. The administration has come closer to them. The Assam Secretariat in Silchar brings key departments closer to the people, bridging a decades-old gap. Apart from bridging the Dispur and Barak Valley gap with the full-fledged secretariat, the Assam government is also switching its functioning to an electronic file system on a war footing. The Cabinet has also approved standard operating procedures and guidelines for its functioning. They include the Chief Minister’s Office and General Administration, along with key public service departments such as Health and Family Welfare, School Education, Higher Education, Revenue and Disaster Management, Agriculture, Food and Civil Supplies and Public Health Engineering.
The building was inaugurated by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on March 14, 2026, at Srikona, shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public programme in Silchar, ahead of the Assembly polls that gave him and the BJP a record mandate. The 32 departments cover a broad spectrum of governance.
Sharing a video of the new secretariat on social media, the Chief Minister said: “The people of Barak Valley no longer need to travel to Guwahati to access the administration. The Chief Minister has often said that officers no longer need to be physically located in Dispur for files and decisions to move between the state capital and Barak Valley – a move that could be a game changer.
