IAS Ayush Garg belongs to 2016 batch Assam cadre and is currently posted as District Commissioner, Sivasagar, Assam. His Vision for the district focuses on empowering community through the saturation of government schemes. “Getting the district up is in itself a dream project.” he said 

Drawing from his vast experience, Garg’s approach ensures scalability and impact. He explains, “For example, if you have a scheme like MNREGA, rather than launching new initiatives, if you plan MNREGA effectively, the funding is already there, and you don’t need to seek additional funds from sources like CSR or NGOs.” Reflecting on his previous district, he added, “We applied a similar strategy there and developed 150 Anganwadi centers, with the entire funding coming from the MNREGA budget itself.”

The key feature in this is how effectively you use available funds and align priorities to allocate resources. He explains “This is where your role as an aggregator and planner comes in.” For instance, he explained if a ward member requests a road prioritize using dedicated schemes. This approach preserves funds for other critical initiatives not covered by existing schemes, optimizing the overall budget.

Under his leadership, Garg emphasises strengthening systems to ensure sustainability He pointed out, “Individual Initiatives often struggle once their initiator moves because successors may not have the same focus, resources or priority of district changes. To address this, strengthening systems like the District Planning Coordinator (DPC) is essential. By documenting efforts through the DPC office, initiatives remain accessible”

Additionally to promote farmers, an exporter’s buyer-seller meet is tentatively planned for January. In this Five star export houses from across the country will be invited to link with the districts current horticultural production “With the farmers here, we’re working to get their produce into international markets.” he said