JAGIROAD (ASSAM)
Jursing Bordoloi undertook a mission in March 2024 to discourage people in and around Jagiroad, a town 55 km east of Guwahati, from selling their land and houses. This was days after the Center approved a ₹27,000 crore semiconductor factory to be set up by the Tata Group.
Jagiroad, in Morigaon district, was developed as an industrial center in the 1960s with a silk spinning mill, followed by a co-operative jute mill, a polyester spinning mill and a co-operative sugar factory. These were not as huge as the paper mill – Hindustan Paper Corporation – established in 1985.
However, one by one these mills folded, depriving the city of a large captive market of workers and their families. After the closure of the paper mill in 2017, the local economy suffered the most.
“The depression set in and people started selling their land, houses and shops. It was difficult to motivate them to hang on, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a blow to an already dying town,” Mr Bordoloi, an adviser to the titular Tiwa king, told The Hindu. Tiwas are the dominant tribe in Morigaon district.
He said the city’s residents saw a ray of hope when the state government announced in January 2023 that it had started the process of developing 1,000 acres of land in Jagiroad, including 500 acres of a dead paper mill, into a world-class integrated business city with the help of Singapore.
“Still, we advised people to hang on and not give up. The semiconductor project was greeted with skepticism, but people believed things were changing for the better when work began on the chip factory,” Mr Bordoloi said, adding that from the end of 2024, workers and engineers on the project would provide homeowners with a steady rental income.
“Things are progressing, but I am not sure if we will get tenants when the project is completed and the employees of the semiconductor plant move into the township,” said Lakhan Bordoloi, who owns the house behind the landmark restaurant.
Litton Saha, a grocery store owner, said business has picked up, but not to an encouraging level. “The scenario may be better when the mill becomes operational by the end of this year, we hear, but we don’t think it will generate enough direct or indirect jobs like the labor-intensive paper mill did. In that case, our customer base may not increase much,” he said.
Job opportunities
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has showcased the semiconductor plant as its model of future-ready development, insists it will be a game-changer for the Jagiroad and Assam’s economy. “This project is all set to create employment for over 26,000 youth, with plans to launch Assam Electronics Mission,” said Information Minister Pijush Hazarika, who is seeking to retain the Jagiroad Assembly constituency for a third consecutive term.
His only rival, Bubul Das of the Congress, is also optimistic about the plant. Still, some of his party colleagues doubt whether the specialized, technology-driven project would offer enough jobs for locals.
Tata Group officials said locals would form a significant part of the workforce. They said the recruitment of interns for the race had started even before it started and 268 of the approximately 600 students selected in 2024 were from Morigaon.
“The selectees are undergoing training in Bengaluru,” said Bhaben Neog, principal of Jagiroad College.
The optimism surrounding the semiconductor factory is reflected in the areas beyond Jagiroad. At Sitajakhala, about 13 km east of the city, one of Assam’s most successful community-run dairy development companies, the need to increase production to meet the “chip makers’ market” is often discussed.
“The government says about 17,000 people will come to stay in the district being built for the semiconductor factory, but even 15,000 is a good number,” said Ranjib Sharma, 68-year-old chairman of Sitajakhala Dairy Producers’ Cooperative Society Limited.
Published – 04 Apr 2026 23:17 IST
