GUWAHATI - In a critical appraisal of his government’s performance, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi admitted Wednesday that the state’s progress was not at all satisfactory in vital sectors like poverty alleviation, employment, agriculture, irrigation and education.

Addressing a two-day conference of deputy commissioners (DC) in Guwahati, the chief minister said DCs would be transferred if they failed to perform and implement government schemes.

“We reviewed various schemes and found the performance is not good. Implementation of schemes like poverty alleviation and employment generation was not satisfactory,” the chief minister said.

At least five ministers were present in the meeting.

“Productivity in the agriculture sector was not up to the mark. We need to adopt a real aggressive stand and speed up our efforts,” Gogoi said.

“Price rise is a major concern and the concerned departments need to take firm action to see that traders are not able to exploit the situation,” the chief minister added.

He was also very critical of other departments, particularly irrigation, food and civil supplies, education, panchayat and rural development.

“I have asked the chief secretary to review the development schemes; those districts that perform below par would be penalised. DCs of those districts would be transferred,” Gogoi said.

The chief minister also admitted to charges that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was not being implemented as it should have been.

“There is a lot that we need to do and we must act fast,” Gogoi said.

The chief minister’s critical appraisal of the development schemes is seen as a signal that the Congress government is pressing hard for the third straight term with Assam assembly elections due before May 2011.