Assam Finance Minister Jayant Malla Barua presented the state budget for the year 2026-27 in the Assembly on Friday (July 10, 2026). The budget places special emphasis on employment generation, infrastructure development, health, education and social welfare. The state government has proposed in the budget that people having more than one marriage (polygamy) will not be entitled to avail the benefits of the welfare schemes of the state government. Apart from this, government employees found guilty in this work will be fired from their jobs.
What did the Finance Minister of Assam say in the Assembly?
Presenting his first budget, state Finance Minister Jayant Malla Barua said the benefits of welfare schemes should not only reach the needy people, but should also promote inclusivity, honesty and moral values in the society. He said, “Honourable Speaker Sir, with a view to promote women empowerment and gender justice, any man who marries more than once will not be eligible to avail the benefits of any welfare scheme of the state government.”
Those practicing polygamy are ineligible for government schemes.
The budget also proposes to amend the Assam Service (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1964. Under this provision, if a government employee is found guilty of polygamy, he can be dismissed from government service as per law. “In order to promote honesty and responsible citizenship, I propose that any person convicted under any criminal law will not be eligible to avail the benefits of the proposed government welfare schemes,” Barua said.
He said that due to non-availability of regular budget during the election process, the normal functioning of welfare schemes was affected. Barua said that the government will now restart these welfare schemes from August. He further said, “This House will appreciate the unprecedented welfare schemes launched by our Government for the beneficiaries of various sections of the society.” “I propose to allocate more than ₹6,000 crore under various heads for these welfare schemes.”
He said all beneficiary-centric schemes will be implemented through an integrated digital beneficiary system developed under the ‘Digital Infrastructure for Direct Benefit Transfer’ (DIDS). This system will also include Aadhaar-based authentication.
