Guwahati Mar 30 PTI Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said the state government is in favour of defining minority status to religious groups district-wise instead of the existing norm of a nationwide declaration of minorities Sarma informed the Assembly that the state government will try to be a party to an ongoing case at the Supreme Court filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking directions for framing of guidelines to identify minorities at the state level The government of Assam favours that minority definition should be changed district wise However it is under consideration of the Supreme Court and we will wait for the judgement he said Sarma said that the central government is also in favour of defining the minorities district and block-wise considering their economic educational gender and other social parametersHe said the Centre recently submitted an affidavit before the Supreme Court in the case filed by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay stating that state governments can declare any religious or linguistic community including Hindus as a minority within the said state The chief minister asserted that there is no definition of religious or linguistic minority in the Constitution but it only spoke about the rights of the two forms of minorities Accepting Congress MLA Rakibul Hussains proposal that the state government should be a party to the case in the apex court Sarma said he has spoken to Union Home Minister Amit Shah about this on Tuesday I will try to make the government of Assam a party to the Ashwini Upadhyay case and present our views on defining the minorities district-wise The case is on religious minority not linguistic minority he added The chief minister said he is not interested in defining linguistic minorities as it is a very sensitive issue Assam is progressing in recent times I dont want to open a faultline he said on the issue of defining linguistic minoritiesSarma said that the Centre had enacted the National Commission for Minorities Act 1992 and notified the Muslims Christians Parsis Sikhs and Buddhists as minorities and also Jains at a later stage Citing the Constitution the SC also said that religious and linguistic minorities are treated at par The only problem is that there is no definition of linguistic minority or there is no threshold limit on how many people should speak a particular language to call them linguistic minorities Sarma said The chief minister claimed that the Supreme Court has stated that a community will be considered a minority if its language culture and identity are threatened by another community So in this scenario we cannot directly call Muslims or Christians minorities It will depend only on the situation and atmosphere of one state It is an evolving situation he addedOn the issue of linguistic minorities the chief minister gave examples from AssamBengalis are not minorities in Barak valley and Dhubri district but they are minorities in Dibrugarh and Upper Assam areas he said Likewise there is a concept for the last 75 years that Muslims are the minorities This is challenged In Assam they are no longer minorities in several districts Now Hindus can also be minorities in one state depending on the situation and threat perception he addedAccording to the 2011 Census Hindus comprise 6147 per cent of Assams total population of 312 crore Muslims constitute 3422 per cent of the population and they are in majority in several districts While Christians form 374 per cent of the total number of people in the state the percentage of Sikhs Buddhists and Jains is less than one per cent Asserting that it is an evolving and dynamic situation Sarma said the state government is awaiting clarity on the subject from the Supreme Court We hope that we will come to know who is the actual minority from the SC judgement he added The chief minister claimed that Babasaheb Ambedkar had said the status of religious and linguistic minorities would change state-wise but he had left it vague in the Constitution Sarma was replying to an issue on the definition of minorities in Assam raised by BJP MLA Mrinal Saikia on March 21 during the ongoing Budget session Referring to The Kashmir Files a Hindi film on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in 1990 Saikia had asked who is the minority in todays time PTI TR NN NN

Guwahati Feb 18 PTI With the police playing an important role in the prevention and mitigation of crimes against wildlife and illegal trade in wildlife parts the law enforcers of Assams Charaideo district were on Friday sensitised on such illegal activities Biodiversity research and conservation organisation Aaranyak in cooperation with the district police headed by its Superintendent of Police Sudhakar Singh organised the workshop a press release issued by the NGO said here Charaideo shares a boundary with Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland which have international borders making it among the vulnerable areas and routes for carrying out wildlife crimes it said Dr Bibhab Kumar Talukdar the secretary-general and CEO of Aaranyak spoke on how social unrest could induce a grave threat to wildlife resources and how the prevalence of wildlife crime will endanger national security because of its intricate link to insurgency arms smuggling and narcotics drugs trade He explained at length the alarming global scenario of wildlife crime as on date with a focus on rhino poaching Dr Jimmy Borah senior manager of the Legal and Advocacy Division LAD at Aaranyak emphasised wildlife crime perspectives and flagged how collaborations among different security agencies can bring about a change for better in tackling the menace Ivy Farheen Hussain project officer at Aaranyak gave an overview of burgeoning crimes against wildlife beyond mega species and explained the kind of wildlife crimes prevalent in the northeast region She stressed that criminals committing crimes against wildlife are as much a danger to society as any other offenders They also discussed the Wildlife Protection Act at length including its various relevant provisions and mandates PTI SSG MM MM

Guwahati Jan 26 PTI Assam on Wednesday reported an over 53 per cent fall in daily Covid-19 cases compared to the previous day as 1951 more people tested positive for the virus according to the official dataThe positivity rate however increased to 985 per cent with testing of only 19803 samples during the day from 961 per cent on Tuesday when 43587 samples were tested the National Health Mission NHM saidThe state on Tuesday recorded 4189 fresh infections a decrease of over 1700 cases compared to the previous days figure During the day 21 people died due to the disease including seven in Kamrup Metropolitan district which primarily comprises Guwahati city With this the total number of deaths of Covid-19 infected people has gone up to 7706 including 1347 with co-morbidities the NHM said It said 7365 patients recovered from the disease since Tuesday taking the total number of cured people to 661084 Kamrup Metropolitan reported 422 fresh cases against 998 infections on the previous day a dip of nearly 58 per cent It has recorded a total of 152296 infections so far Currently the state has 36063 active cases Out of the new cases the highest 422 patients were detected from Kamrup Metropolitan followed by 139 in Jorhat 91 in Lakhimpur and 87 in Dibrugarh With a total of 704853 Covid-19 cases in Assam the overall positivity rate stands at 255 per cent against the testing of 27674656 samples so far The NHM said 40978311 doses of Covid vaccines have been administered This includes 23107805 first doses 17742536 second doses and 127970 precaution doses It said 35070 people were vaccinated on Wednesday PTI TR NN NN

Guwahati Jan 24 PTI Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on Monday decided to conduct ground level survey on the status of inter-state boundary as a step towards resolving the vexed border row Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said He held a meeting with his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu here on Monday to discuss the issue Following the discussion Sarma wrote on Twitter Solving boundary issues with neighbours is our priority Assam and Arunachal Pradesh share a 8041 km-long border and there are 1200 points of disputes along it and the two states have decided to conduct ground level survey on boundary status Discussed with Honble CM of Arunachal Pradesh Sh PemaKhanduBJP who came all the way to Guwahati measures for permanent solution to the long-pending issue Sarma tweeted Arunachal Pradesh was a centrally administered region after Independence and became a union territory later before attaining full statehood in 1987 Sarma who has been taking the initiative to resolve Assams border disputes with its neighbours since assuming office in May last year had said at a press conference here on Sunday that the differences with Arunachal Pradesh will be solved in due course of time Assam and Meghalaya after several rounds of talks at different levels have submitted recommendations to Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier this month for resolving the dispute in six out of total 12 areas of differences Sarma had held talks with Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio here on Sunday following which the latter told reporters at Kohima on Monday that the two states are ready for an out of court settlement of the long pending inter-state boundary dispute Rio said Nagaland and Assam delegations are likely to meet Shah in February to discuss and formulate how to go about the settlement Sarma had however said on Sunday that verdict of the Supreme Court which has been hearing the cases related to the inter-state dispute between Assam and Nagaland can be expected in two-three years and did not indicate any talk between the two states on out of court settlement Assam also has boundary issues with Mizoram though no talks have be held as yet to resolve it the chief minister had said PTI SSG KK KK KK

Guwahati Dec 26 PTI A government change marked 2021 in Assam as BJPs Northeast strongman Himanta Biswa Sarma took over as the chief minister earning both bouquets and brickbats from varied quarters over his style of governance that drew accusations of heavy-handed tackling of the security situationSarma assumed power after leading the BJP together with Sarbananda Sonowal the incumbent chief minister in the March-April assembly elections decimating the 10-party opposition alliance comprising the Congress and Badruddin Ajmals AIUDFThough the BJP did not project a chief ministerial face Sarma was rewarded for his organisational skills as he helped the party secure a second consecutive term in office besides expanding its base in the NortheastSonowal who helmed the state since 2016 was accommodated in Prime Minister Narendra Modis Cabinet as Minister of Shipping and Ayush after being elected uncontested to the Rajya SabhaAs Sarma realised his long-cherished goal of becoming the states chief minister he gave a free-hand to the police leading to regular encountersHis government also extended the olive branch to banned militant groups such as ULFA while border disputes with neighbouring states marred his first few months in officeHe also steered the state through the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic ensuring the upgradation of health infrastructure and swift rollout of the vaccination driveSarmas free-hand to law enforcers led to over 80 police shootings that resulted in the killing of 32 people named in various criminal cases and injury to at least 57 othersThe opposition alleged police had turned trigger happy under Sarma but the chief minister was unfazed and asserted the authorities had full operational liberty to fight against criminals within the ambit of lawHe also ordered a clampdown on drug trafficking a menace in the Northeast leading to seizure of narcotics worth crores of rupees that were publicly burnt by the governmentSarmas government was also accused of targeting Muslims -- from crackdown on encroachers belonging to the community to asking them to adopt family planning for population control besides bringing in a stringent cattle protection lawTwo people were killed during an eviction drive in Darrang district in September as clashes broke out between police and alleged encroachers At least 20 more were injured A video showing a photographer stomping on an injured protester in the throes of death went viral sparking outrageOn the first day in office Sarma gave a call to the banned ULFA for talks and the outfits chief Paresh Barua reciprocated by extending the unilateral ceasefire thriceMore than a thousand militants operating in the Bodoland Territorial Region BTR and the three hill districts of Dima Hasao Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong surrendered with their armsSarma the convenor of the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance and the partys chief troubleshooter in the region faced his first major challenge as violence broke out at the Assam-Mizoram border with six police personnel and a civilian getting killed in Cachar district in JulyFlare-ups continued at the inter-state border even as the government formed a committee to resolve the issue The Assam government also took steps to resolve pending boundary disputes with Meghalaya Nagaland and Arunachal PradeshThe chief minister described the boundary disputes as the biggest stumbling block for the development of the regionThe state continued to battle the pandemic in 2021 with 5118 people dying of COVID-19 so far this year as against 1037 in the previous year The total number of cases rose to 620081 till date this year from last years 215939So far 36714946 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered -- 21688360 first dose and 15026586 second doseAmid the raging pandemic the BJP secured 60 seats in the assembly polls while its partner AGP bagged nine and the UPPL sixThe opposition Mahajot which fell apart after the election could manage 50 seats in the 126-member assembly Firebrand leader-activist Akhil Gogoi who fought as an Independent also won becoming the first politician in the state to win an election from jailSarmas sustained efforts to expand the ruling benches also bore fruit with Congress MLAs Rupjyoti Kurmi of Mariani and Sushanta Borgohain of Thowra and AIUDFs Phani Talukdar of Bhabanipur switching over to the BJP and winning in bypollsCongress MLA Sashi Das of Raha announced that he would support the BJP while remaining in his partySarma also faced attacks by the opposition which accused a real estate company co-founded by his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma and BJP Kisan Morcha leader Ranjit Bhattacharya of illegally acquiring a government landDuring the year Assam celebrated boxer Lovlina Borgohain who became the first sportsperson from the state to win an Olympics medal She won a bronze at the Tokyo games PTI DG SK SOM SOM

Guwahati Dec 24 PTI Assam has recorded a decline in its growth rate while its fiscal deficit outstanding debt and public debt have increased significantly at the end of 2019-20 a Comptroller and Auditor CAG report on state finance for the period said on Friday The report laid in the state Assembly on the last day of the Winter Session said the GSDP of the state grew from Rs 227959 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 351318 crore quick estimates in 2019-20 with Compounded Annual Growth Rate CAGR of 1142 per cent against the national CAGR of 1037 per cent However there was a decline in the growth rate from 1647 per cent in 2015-16 to 1122 per cent in 2019-20 it added It further said the state could achieve revenue surplus only during two years in the five year period from 2015-16 to 2019-20 and in containing the fiscal deficit below 3 per cent of GSDP in three out of five years in the same period During 2019-20 the fiscal deficit stood at 425 per cent of GSDP which was significantly more than the limit of 3 per cent fixed under the Assam Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management AFRBM Act The fiscal deficit which increased by 21210 per cent from 477906 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 1491580 crore in 2019-20 was the highest level of fiscal deficit since the enactment of the AFRBM Act in 2005 the report said It further said outstanding debt of the state rapidly increased from Rs 3905459 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 7225652 crore in 2019-20 with the debtGSDP ratio increasing from 1713 per cent to 2057 per cent over the same period Public debt constituted 75 per cent of total state debt at the end of 2019-20 and it grew at the rate of 2588 per cent during the year the highest in the last five-year period and also outpaced the growth rate of GSDP 1122 per cent during the year the CAG report said It also pointed that the state government had taken recourse to market loans on several occasions during 2019-20 despite having large cash balances It further said committed expenditure like salary and wages pensions and interest payments steadily increased during the five year of 2015-20 The committed expenditure during 2019-20 was 6432 per cent of the total revenue receipts and 6223 per cent of total revenue expenditure Among the recommendations made by the audit body it said the state government can make concrete efforts to augment own resources of revenue to bridge the mismatch between revenue receipts and expenditure and reduce its fiscal deficit It also recommended the state government to take steps to rationalise its committed revenue expenditure and use its cash balances for productive purposes and reduce market borrowings PTI SSG RG RG

Guwahati Oct 17 PTI The positivity rate of new Covid-19 cases in Assam breached the one per cent mark for the second time within a period of four days on Sunday while six fresh fatalities were reported an official bulletin said Altogether 205 new coronavirus cases were registered in the state during the day from 19350 tests conducted taking the total caseload to 606468 the bulletin issued by the National Health Mission Assam said The daily positivity rate was at 106 per cent on Sunday after it had touched 153 per cent on Thursday The rate was 093 per cent on Friday and 082 per cent on SaturdaySix deaths were reported during the day one less than the previous days figure Two fatalities each were registered from Barpeta and Dibrugarh districts while Kamrup Metropolitan and Kamrup Rural districts recorded one death each the NHM bulletin said The total Covid-19 death toll now stands at 5950 while the number of coronavirus patients dying due to other causes remained at 1347 Among the new cases detected on Sunday 68 were from Kamrup Metropolitan and 24 from Jorhat districts As many as 245 patients were discharged across the state during the day taking the number of recovered people to 597082 with a recovery rate of 9845 per cent The number of active cases in the state currently is 2089Meanwhile 197 crore vaccine doses were administered in the state so far The bulletin said 6584511 people have received both doses PTI SSG NN NN

New Delhi Sep 23 PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday lauded the Assam governments decision to burn rhino horns a coveted item among poachers and said all steps will be taken for the animals well-being Assam had on Wednesday consigned to flames 2479 rhino horns worlds largest stockpile destroyed in a single day to bust a myth that the horns have miraculous medicinal properties The move by the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government is part of an effort to curb poaching of the endangered one-horned Indian rhinoceros Modi tweeted Commendable effort by Team Assam The One-Horned Rhino is Indias pride and all steps will be taken for its well-being PTI KR ZMN ZMN

Guwahati Aug 24 PTI The contribution of frontline forest staff in the field of tiger conservation in Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam during the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn praise from the National Tiger Conservation Authority NTCA an official statement said here on Tuesday The work done by the staff has put the reserve in the running for the NTCAs Bagh Rakshak award for 2021 it added The Inspector General of Forests Project Tiger Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change Amit Mallick has appreciated the contribution made by frontline personnel of Manas Tiger Reserve in the field of tiger conservation the statement said In a letter to the Field Director Manas Tiger Project Mallick expressed his admiration on behalf of the NTCA for the efforts of the forest frontline force at Manas Tiger Reserve during the extraordinary times of COVID-19 pandemic Mallick added that the Manas Tiger Reserve is in the reckoning for the NTCAs Bagh Rakshak award for 2021 As per phase-IV monitoring the tiger population has increased to 48 this year under the Manas Tiger Project the statement said Further stating that there has been a reduction in wildlife and forest offences it added that in 2019 a total of 20 offenders were arrested while the number of arrests in 2020 was 15 In 2021 till date two wildlife offenders were arrested The Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve had bagged CATS Conservation Assured Tiger Standard Accreditation Certificate on Global Tiger Day on July 29 this year It had also received the Global Tiger Conservation Excellence Award under Category 1x2 and Conservation Excellency 2020 - jointly awarded to Royal Manas National Park Bhutan and Manas Tiger Reserve India the statement said It had also bagged the Hemchand Mahindra Foundations Wildlife Warrior Award on April 3 this year under which eight frontline staff were paid Rs 50000 each Besides Manas was awarded the IUCN-WCPA International Ranger Award for which 12 frontline protection personnel were conferred with highly commended certificates PTI SSG RG RG

RegionalRiver front projects to boost business prospects of NEGUWAHATI AUG 21 Publish Date 8212021 122108 PM ISTNoting that several projects along river Brahmaputra are in the pipeline Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday exuded confidence that business prospects in the northeast region will improve with the development of waterwaysBoth Barak and Brahmaputra rivers will be connected once again to these ports and it will give business activities a much-needed pushThere are many projects for the Brahmaputra in the pipelineThe Sadiya-Dhubri stretch of Brahmaputra in Assam spanning 891km was declared as national waterway noThe former Assam chief minister further noted that the Narendra Modi-led government has been focussing on the development of northeast since the very beginning