In a major embarrassment for the Himanta Biswa Sarma–led BJP government, the latest Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has exposed shocking mismanagement inside the Assam State Warehousing Corporation (ASWC). According to Paragraph 3.3 of the CAG Report No. 4 of 2024, the government spent Rs 8.98 crore on two cold storage projects that were supposed to support farmers and reduce post-harvest losses. Instead, after eight long years, both projects remain abandoned, incomplete, and entirely useless. The watchdog has officially termed the expenditure “unfruitful”, a damning accusation for a government that claims to champion agricultural development. The report further states that the delay cost the state an additional Rs 2.56 crore in potential revenue, pushing the total public loss well above Rs 11 crore.
At a time when Assam desperately needs cold storage facilities to stop wastage of fruits, vegetables, potatoes and dairy products with post-harvest losses touching 20–30%; the government’s failure to complete even two state-run cold storages speaks volumes about its priorities and efficiency. Assam today has more than 50 registered cold storages, most of them built by private players, cooperatives, or under central schemes. Private units in Nagaon, Kamrup, Barpeta and other districts are functioning smoothly with capacities ranging from 500 MT to more than 5,000 MT. Yet the two government-funded plants mentioned by the CAG remain skeletons of cement and rusting machinery, gathering dust while farmers suffer huge losses.
The contrast becomes even sharper when compared to major facilities like the Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board’s 5,000-MT cold storage at Chaygaon, inaugurated in 2022 with much fanfare by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Projects like the solar-powered Himalaya Cold Storage in Barpeta or Keydee Cold Storage in Nagaon have expanded rapidly under government subsidy schemes, while ASWC; a state agency directly under the Assam Government has completely failed to deliver even basic infrastructure after spending crores of taxpayer money. 
The CAG report clearly points to weak project management, poor monitoring, and failure to hold contractors accountable. Equipment purchased years ago now risks becoming scrap. The report notes that essential works were abandoned midway, deadlines were never enforced, and no corrective steps were taken for years. Even as crores remained locked inside unfinished buildings, farmers across Assam continued to suffer seasonal price crashes for potatoes, onions, fish feed and dairy products because of lack of storage capacity.
What makes the situation even more politically sensitive is the growing spotlight on the cold-chain and food-processing sector in Assam, especially after the controversy involving Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, the wife of the Chief Minister. Her company, Pride East Entertainments Pvt. Ltd., received approval for a Rs 10 crore central grant under the PM Kisan Sampada Yojana for an agro-processing cluster with cold-chain components in Nagaon. Opposition parties, led by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, accused the government of bending rules, fast-tracking land conversion, and using a farmers’ welfare scheme for a politically connected media conglomerate. Although the Chief Minister denied wrongdoing and the case remains tied up in courts, the political heat never truly died.
In this backdrop, the CAG’s revelation of state-run cold storage projects lying dead for eight years raises serious questions. When private players and politically linked companies can secure huge grants and quickly expand operations, why is a government corporation funded entirely by public money left to rot? Why were the cold storages not completed despite availability of funds? Who benefited from the delays? Who approved the payments for incomplete works? And why has no action been taken so far?
Farmers in regions like Nagaon, Kamrup, and Barpeta have long demanded more government-run cold storage facilities so that they can store produce during peak harvest. Without storage, farmers often sell crops at throwaway prices or suffer massive losses. Yet instead of prioritizing these essential projects, the government appears to have allowed nearly Rs 9 crore to be wasted without accountability.
The CAG’s findings now put the Himanta Biswa Sarma government on the defensive. This is not an isolated error but part of a disturbing pattern. The same CAG report lists multiple cases where public sector enterprises failed to utilise funds, lost revenue due to poor planning, or made payments without securing value for money. But the cold storage episode stands out because it hits directly at Assam’s farmers; the heart of the state’s economy.
With the state gearing up for another election cycle, the opposition is likely to seize on these revelations. The government cannot continue to blame previous administrations or procedural delays. This happened under its watch. The public deserves answers, and farmers deserve better than promises and photo-ops.
For now, the CAG has made the truth clear: Assam’s farmers lost market opportunities, the exchequer lost crores, and the people lost trust, all because two cold storage projects were abandoned for eight years while the government looked the other way.
