Assam
The BJP government in Assam has spent hugely on advertisements in the last 4 years. State Information and Public Relations Minister, Piyush Hazarika on Wednesday informed in the Assembly that the government of Chief Minister Himant Biswa Sarma has spent more than Rs 370 crore on advertisements in the last 4 financial years.
Hazarika said that under the leadership of Sarbananda Sonowal, the Chief Minister of Assam from 2016 to 2021, the state government had spent a total of Rs 125.6 crore on advertisements from 2016-17 to five financial years. During the tenure of the government, there has been a steady increase in expenditure on advertisements. In 2020-21, the Sonowal government spent Rs 30.24 crore on advertisements, while in 2021-22, when Himant Biswa Sarma took charge of the post of Chief Minister, the expenditure increased to Rs 72.83 crore.
Subsequently, every year under the Sarma government, the expenditure on advertisements increased. In 2022-23, this expenditure reached Rs 78.85 crore and in 2023-24 it increased to Rs 160.92 crore. Similarly, 59.72 crore has been spent for advertisements so far in FY 2024-25.
Apart from this, Minister Hazarika also informed that in 2015-16, when Tarun Gogoi had a government in Assam, Rs 18.58 crore was spent on advertisements. After this, when the BJP government came and Sarbananda Sonowal took over as the Chief Minister, the next year the expenditure on advertisements increased to Rs 26.88 crore.