by Jugal Kalita, kalita@pikespeak.uccs.edu
Land usage
Total area of Assam: 30318 square miles
(about the size of Maine,
about 4 times the size of New Jersey,
about one fifth the size of California,
about one ninth the size of Texas)
Prime agriculture 33.11
Unarable 30.76
Forests 25.42
Grazing lands 2.38
Plantations 3.39
Residential 4.94
Total 100.00
Major industrial products of Assam:
crude, oil refinary products, wheat flour, paper, cementProduction of Mineral Resources (1985)
Crude Oil 4583 Coal 850 Natural Gas 771 Limestone 168
- Coal
- Makum, Marherita, Nazira, Lankadaman, Jaipur, Ledo Namdum, Koliajan - Total
production: 0.6% of India's production - Crude Oil
- Naharkatiya, Moran, Hugrizan, Rudrasagar, Galeky, Lanka, Nazira, Teok -
Total production: more than 50% of India's production - Natural Gas
- Naharkatiya, Moran
- Limestone
- Garampani, Koliajan
- Forest Resources About 25% of the state's land area; Main products are
timber, bamboo, cane, fuel; Support plywood, match, paper and paper pulp
industries - Power Resources
- Water, natural gas, coal and oil (mostly underutilized) - Assam has 28% of
the total hydro-power potential of India
Tea Industry
First tea plantation started in Assam: 1835
Land under plantation in 1871: 300,000 acres
Land under plantation in 1981: 494,000 acres
Yield in 1933: 99 million kilograms
Yield in 1938: 118 million kilograms
Yield in 1982: 303 million kilograms
No of plantations in 1971: 750
No of plantations in 1981: 777
Number of people employed in 1938: 486,250
Number of people employed in 1942: 497,106
Number of people employed in 1980: 449,000
Number of people dependent on tea industry (current): about 12-15% of Assam's population
Guwahati Tea Auction Center (GTAC) inaugarated: Sep 25, 1970
Sale at GTAC in 1971-72: 21,998 thousand kilograms
Sale at GTAC in 1974-75: 26,626 thousand kilograms
Sale at GTAC in 1980: 6,256,000 thousand kilograms
Sale at GTAC in 1981: 6,497,000 thousand kilograms
Sale at GTAC in 1982: 7,534,000 thousand kilograms
Petroleum Industry
Commercial production began: 1899
Assam Oil Company (AOC) formed: 1899
Burmah Oil Company takes over AOC: 1921
Production in 1977: 4.47 million tons
Production in 1980: 1.06 million gallons
Production in 1981: 4.39million gallons
Coal Industry
Production in 1979-80: 582,000 thousand tons
Production in 1980-81: 651,000 thousand tons
Agriculture
No of people dependent on agriculture: 70%
Food crops: Rice, wheat, pulses, potato, maize
Cash crops: Tea, jute, oilseeds, tobacco, sugarcane
Total area of Assam: 7,852,000 hectares
Total cropped area (1977-78): 3,311,000 hectares
Total cultivable wasteland (1977-78): 244,000 hectares
Total area under food crops (1975-76): 2,800,000
Total area under rice (1981-82): 2,260,000 hectares
Total number of operational holdings (agricultural; 1976-77): 2,250,000
Average size of operational holding (agricultural; 1976-77): 1.37 hectares
Jute mill Silghat Silk mill Jagiroad Chemical fertilizers Namrup Petrochemical Namrup, Bongaigaon Oil refinary Digboi, Noonmati, Bongaigaon Paper mill Jagiroad, Panchgram, Jogighopa Match factory Dhubri Cement factory Bokajan Sugar mill Barua Bamun Gaon, Chargola, Kampur Yarn mill Chariduar, Chandrapur Vegetable ghee mill Amingaon Iron pipes Gotanagar (Guwahati) Railway repair workshops Bongaigaon, New Bongaigaon, Dibrugarh Chemical plants Guwahati, Chandrapur
Roadways (1984-85) 26,352 kilometers (16, 233 miles) of road National highway 2,035 kilometers (1254 miles) Railway track (1988) 2388 kilometers (1471 miles) Airports 6
Sources of the information
- Adhunik Asomia Manchitra edited by Bijay Kumar Dutta, Student Stores,
Guwahati, First edition, 1988 - The Economy of Assam, Pranab Kumar Dhar, Ashomi Prakashani, Bijni, Assam,
1987