Guwahati: Keeping the promises made while signing the peace accord, Assam Government provided financial aid to over 1100 former Vanvasi rebels. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on October 8, attended the ceremonial distribution of financial grants to 1181 former cadres of five Vanvasi Militant organisations which had signed a tripartite peace agreement with the Centre and the Government of Assam. As part of the financial grant, the 1181 former militants belonging to the Birsa Commando Force (BCF), Adivasi People’s Army (APA), All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA), Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam (ACMA) and Santhal Tiger Force (STF), have been provided with a fixed deposit of Rs 4 lakhs each with a maturity period of 3 years. Further, arrangements have been made with the State Bank of India (SBI) to provide these former rebels with a loan of Rs 3.2 lakh each against the Rs 4 lakh fixed deposit as security.
Speaking at the event organised at the Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra International Auditorium, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma termed the distribution of financial grants to the former rebels a historic moment for the overall uplift of the Vanvasi communities of the State. CM Sarma exuded confidence that the 1181 former rebels would achieve self-reliance by making the best use of the financial grants being provided to them. The CM said that the Government will also facilitate skill-training of the former rebels through agencies such as the State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD) if approached. He also appealed to the former rebels to apply for schemes of the Government of Assam, such as Mukhya Mantri Atmanirbhar Asom Abhiyaan, to name a few.
CM Sarma said the 1181 former rebels from today had shed the “rebel” tag altogether, and from hereafter, they shall be recognised as “ambitious youths of the mainstream Vanvasi society”. He assured them of the Government’s sincerity in implementing all the points of the Vanvasi peace agreement. Also, he said the State Government has been taking steps to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of various communities and that the conclusion of peace treaties with several ethnic rebel groups manifests the commitment of the current dispensation. He said peace talks with organisations such as the pro-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) are also going in the right direction. Stating that with the return of normalcy, many measures such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) are now being confined to just four districts of upper Assam, CM Sarma expressed hope such Acts would be repealed altogether from Assam, in days to come.
Despite a considerable reduction in the deployment of armed forces personnel in the past 2-3 years, there has been no incidence of organised violence in the State, the CM said, adding that members of civil society organisations and student groups deserve praise for their roles in bringing about this perceptible change in the State.
Further, CM Sarma said that Assam has left behind its troubled past and is now taking the road towards unprecedented growth and progress.
With the State now attaining a strong economic base, the Government is now focusing on fulfilling the genuine hopes and aspirations of the downtrodden sections of the society, CM Sarma said, adding that the increases in the daily wages of tea garden labourers of the State are a step in that direction.
He also spoke about the number of measures the current State government has been taking to uplift the Vanvasi and tea tribe communities of the State. The decision to provide reservations to members of tea tribe communities in Government job vacancies reserving seats in medical colleges, among others, would go a long way in ensuring the Vanvasi communities can walk hand-in-hand with others in days to come. CM Sarma added that Rs 200 crores would be approved to improve road infrastructure in the localities inside tea estates inhabited by tea garden labourers. Steps are being taken to provide children of tea tribe communities with the best education available, he said. The scholarship amount of Rs 25,000 each to beneficiaries under the Swahid Dayal Das Panika Swaniyojan Achoni shall be increased to Rs 50,000, the CM added. CM Sarma appealed to the former rebels to play a constructive role in society by building themselves as role models and taking the lead in fighting prevalent social evils such as alcoholism and the practice of child marriages.
