Assam to send report to Centre for granting ST status to ethnic communities

The Assam government would send

to the Centre soon the report of the Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted for preparation of modalities for granting of ST status to the six ethnic communities of the state, said Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

He also said that the proposed Autonomous Council for the Moran community would start functioning shortly.

The chief minister said this in a meeting with a delegation of various organisations of the Moran Community in Guwahati on Saturday.

The six communities are Koch Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Chutia, Matak, Moran and Tea Tribes.

Sonowal said the state government is making sincere efforts to solve the issues affecting the Moran community and the GoM constituted by the state government for preparation of modalities for granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the six communities had initiated consultations with all stakeholders and would soon submit its report, which would then be sent to the Union government.

The chief minister said that the state government is making all out efforts to ensure granting of ST status to the six communities without affecting the rights and privileges of the existing scheduled tribes.

He also said that the proposed Autonomous Council for the community would start functioning shortly.

Sonowal said the history of the Moran community as announced earlier by the state government would be published soon and expressed hope that the book would present a detailed picture of the rich heritage, culture and contribution of the community to the growth of Assamese society.

He also said that various steps have been taken by the state government for the holistic development of the community.

The representatives of the Moran community submitted a memorandum to the chief minister in the meeting highlighting their various demands.

A delegation of Baghjan Milanjyoti Sangha also submitted a memorandum to the chief minister in the meeting demanding early release of compensation to the affected families of Baghjan gas oil fire incident and capping of the damaged gas well.

The chief minister assured the delegation to discuss the issues with Oil India Limited (OIL) authorities for an early solution.

Representatives of the All Assam Bengali Yuva Chatra Federation and All Assam Gorkha Students Union also met the chief minister and submitted memorandums highlighting various demands of the organisations.