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North East : Assam : PM’s visit - Manmohan puts the state in poll gear

	January 23, 2006

The Congress-led Assam government has pounced on the opportunity provided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to score points ahead of the Assembly elections and raised several demands for the uplift of the people of the state, especially tribal population and minorities.



A 20-page memorandum submitted by the State Government to the Prime Minister during his two-day visit on Jan. 16 and 17 sought supportive measures for revival of the tea industry, saying it was crucial to the state’s economy.



It asked for financial assistance to the industry to partly offset the costs being borne by it on account of labourers’ welfare. It also sought immediate withdrawal of additional excise duty on tea, increase in re-plantation subsidy and allocation of below poverty line rice to the gardens for distribution among labourers.



The ruling party’s anxiety over the apparent shifting of loyalties by its traditional support base is reflected in Dispur seeking Scheduled Tribe status for the tea tribes and special financial packages for the community and minorities.



Apart from the tea tribes, the government also sought ST status for other tribes such as Ahoms, Mattaks, Morans, Koch and Rajbongshis.



For the tea tribes, Dispur also sought Rs 20-crore one-time grant-in-aid for a gratuity scheme to provide economic relief to the community.



Pointing out that 9.35 per cent (about 25 lakh and predominantly minorities) of the state’s population lives in the char areas, Dispur said it was difficult to provide even the basic amenities to this large population living below the poverty line and sought a char area development package.







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Tura Parliamentary poll : Sangma turns to Cong



Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A. Sangma, who is the candidate of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the forthcoming Tura parliamentary bypoll, is trying his best to dissuade the Congress from fielding a candidate.



The Congress has chosen rising star Mukul Sangma as its contender.



Sangma is arguing that the tie-up between the NCP and the Congress should be bolstered as the two parties are in coalition at the Centre.



But as a Congress worker put it, “Sangma is wary of the fact that this time round, his chances may not be as bright as they were earlier. Therefore, he is keen to garner support from the Congress.”



‘The byelection to the Tura parliamentary seat will be held on February 16.



Though Purno Sangma’s political aides are confident that he will retain his seat this time as well, the veteran politician from the Garo hills is perhaps wary of the way the Congress has managed to penetrate the NCP bastion on his home turf.



This was evident in the defeat of his son Conrad Sangma in the Selsella Assembly bypoll last year. Contesting on an NCP ticket, Conrad Sangma had lost to Clement Marak of the Congress.



Sources close to the NCP said the senior Sangma has not been able to digest the fact that Congress leader Mukul Sangma was instrumental in ensuring Conrad’s defeat in the Selsella byelection.



Mukul Sangma also played a key role in splitting the NCP soon after the last Assembly elections in 2003.



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Not forgetting Barak Valley, a BJP stronghold, the state government requested Manmohan Singh to take up development projects in the area. It urged him to declare the Barak a national waterway and keep it navigable round the year as it had the potential of being turned into an efficient trade route.



It also sought better infrastructure for Silchar Medical College and a modern intensive care unit in the hospital to cater to people from neighbouring states like Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.



However, it was not only the tea tribes, minorities and Barak Valley that the state government sought to appease. The AASU, a vocal opponent of the government’s policies, had something to cheer about, too, as Dispur requested the Prime Minister to reserve 100 per cent jobs in Groups C and D of central offices and public sector undertakings for local youth.



The memorandum sought more bridges, trains, an integral coach factory and assistance for setting up more police stations in the troubled hill districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills.



The state government called for corrections in the industrial policy for the Northeast, stating that investments were drying up after the policy was replicated for Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.





Mini North East



During his visit to the State, the Prime Minister inaugurated the country’s seventh Shilpgram (Rural Technology Village) in Guwahati on Jan. 17. The complex unveils a “mini Northeast”, housed in a sprawling seven-acre of land, close to the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra.



“This Shilpgram represents the beauty and grace of the people of the northeastern region of our country. It also captures the immense potential of this region which, if properly harnessed, will significantly improve the economic and social conditions of the people,” the Prime Minister said in his speech during the inaugural function.



The Chief Ministers of Assam and Manipur, Tarun Gogoi and Okram Ibobi Singh, and the Governors of Assam and Nagaland, Lt. Gen. (retd) Ajai Singh and Shyamal Datta, also attended the function.



Singh said the Shilpgram will showcase the region’s “magnificent legacy of cottage and village industries and its people’s aesthetic outlook”.



The crafts village, undertaken by the North East Zone Cultural Centre, Dimapur, is aimed at encouraging indigenous crafts of the region and bring to light the rich and developed art forms to economically empower the artisans.



With the inauguration of the Rs 4-crore project, the cultural circuit of all the seven zonal cultural centres of the country having its own crafts village has been completed.



The project was completed over a period of 14 months by the North East Zonal Cultural Centre (NEZCC), an autonomous body under the Department of Culture of the Union Ministry of Tourism and Culture.



“The village is going to provide a common platform for the craftsmen of the region to display and market their wares under a single umbrella,” said Shilpgram director Angau I. Thou.





Panel to review Tribal Rights Bill



The controversial Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005, which contains provisions granting certain rights to tribals living in forests, has been referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee, Minister for Tribal Affairs and DoNER, P.R. Kyndiah said.



Kyndiah mentioned the Bill while speaking at the Sixth Editors Conference on Social Sector Issues held on Jan. 18 in New Delhi. He expressed confidence that the provisions of the Bill would be implemented and the tribals given their rights.



The Bill, drafted by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, was tabled in Parliament during the last winter session in the midst of opposition by the Environment and Forests Ministry, which believes that granting such rights will have an adverse impact on forests. Once tabled in Parliament, it is customary for a Bill to be referred to a standing committee, which would subsequently give its opinion.



Currently there is a ban on development activities in notified forests, but the Minister said that as many as 2,700 forest villages have been identified in the bill where development projects may have to be carried out to benefit the tribal population.



“We are discussing the matter with the environment and Forest Ministry for a one-time diversion of land in these villages for development purposes,” he said. Efforts were also on by the Ministry to provide insurance to tribal families at a nominal premium and scholarships to tribal students pursuing higher studies, he added.



Nearly eight per cent of the country’s population comprises tribals, including four states in the Northeast that have an overwhelming tribal majority. An official present at the meeting said the passage of the bill in Parliament would have far-reaching implications on these communities and forests in the region.





Talks with militant groups on course



Even as state’s major extremist outfit, United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) continues to indulge in subversive activities such as ransom demand of Rs 500 crore from oil major ONGC, a grenade blast in Guwahati and the boycott call on Republic Day, the Centre on Jan. 20 hinted that the second round of talks with the People’s Consultative Group (PCG), ULFA’s handpicked team of mediators, would be held shortly.



The positive indication came a few hours before suspected ULFA militants lobbed a grenade at the entrance of the Guwahati Refinery at Noonmati. Police said 10 people, including eight personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force, were injured.



Writer Mamoni Raisom Goswami said senior central government officials told her that the date for the next round of discussions with the PCG might be announced in a day or two.



The New Delhi-based writer’s statement was in contrast to the attitude of ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, who was quoted by a local daily as saying during a telephonic interview on Jan. 19 that the ONGC must meet his outfit’s demand for cash. He also threatened “action” against other private and public sector undertakings such as Coal India and Oil India Ltd if they did not pay up.



A jittery administration asked the CRPF and the police to assist the CISF in guarding all oil installations, especially the pipelines criss-crossing the state. The directive followed a review of security for the oil sector.



News of ULFA serving an extortion notice on the ONGC had triggered speculation over the fate of the nascent peace process because the government has repeatedly affirmed that it will not tolerate violence and extortion.



Meanwhile, in a startling revelation, an arrested ULFA militant has told police that several of his associates had been using student identity cards issued by Guwahati University to escape detection by security forces during missions in the Assam capital.



This significant information came from Pranab Patowary on Jan. 21, who was arrested earlier along with two other Ulfa members.





Missing ULFA cadres : Centre gets two weeks to furnish list



The Gauhati High Court on Thursday, Jan. 19, gave the External Affairs Ministry two more weeks to furnish a complete list of persons handed over to India by the Royal Bhutan Army during Operation All Clear in 2003.



A Division Bench issued the order after the lawyer representing the Ministry sought more time to submit the list.



The court had on January 5, 2006 heard a habeas corpus petition filed by Shyamalee Gogoi last year seeking the whereabouts of her husband Punaram Dihingia alias Prakash Gogoi, an ULFA cadre, and asked the Centre to submit the list in two weeks.