Guwahati, Jul 10 (IANS): Every high school in the rural areas of Assam will receive Rs 5 crore in a phased manner for infrastructure development, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Monday.

Sarma said that the state government will spend Rs 5 crore for infrastructure development at the high schools located in the villages of Assam in the next few years. These grants will be disbursed to the respective schools in a phased manner.

He claimed that the decision will have an overall impact on the rural areas.

The Chief Minister also criticised the previous Congress government over Anganwadi centres.

"Anganwadi centres were like chicken coops during the Congress regime. We have started the process of changing the infrastructure. The state government will give a grant of Rs 25 lakh to each Anganwadi centre in the state," he said.

Sarma also mentioned the ambitious project which the BJP government has taken up to make women self-reliant.

"It has been decided to give a financial aid of Rs 10,000 each to the 40 lakh women in the state. Apart from this, two lakh youth will also be given a financial aid of Rs 1 lakh each, so that they are able to progress towards becoming self-reliant," he said.

The Chief Minister also raised the issue of giving bicycles to ninth-grade students.

"Wherever I go, students talk about the difficulty of commuting to and from school. So, I have decided to provide bicycles to schoolchildren. This will solve their worries about going to school," Sarma said.

Sarma claimed that all this has become possible because Assam has become agitation-free.

"The state has not seen any agitation in the last two years. As a result, it has become possible to focus on development," he added.