ONE MONTH OF CM Dr. HIMANTA BISWA SARMA: BOLD, DECISIVE AND TRANSPARENT

                   

Assam, under the new and decisive leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has completed one month in office and now is nearing full two months. Last month on May 10, after scripting a victory for BJP paving a way to rule for another next 5 years, Himanta Biswa Sarma rose on his popularity in public and took the oath as 15th Chief Minister of Assam.

Though Himanata Biswa Sarma, as chief minister, has completed only one month amid the prevailing second wave of pandemic and one month of administration is insufficient to take stock of the hits and misses, the framework of good governance has been laid in one month.

One of the parameters to examine the one month of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma is his achievements in taking bold and key decisions. However, limiting the assessment in the context of Himanta Biswa Sarma only to development and governance won't do justice to the stature of a politician like him. As Himanta Biswa Sarma had himself stated in an interview to Indian Express before elections that in a state like Assam, only development and governance can't remain the driving force in its political landscape, cultural issues are essential too.

But before, let's take a glance at some of the key decisions of the Himanta Biswa Sarma government in the last one month.

·   Inclusive Governance

In a significant and historic decision to ensure inclusive governance in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced to designate the post of cabinet ministers to all CEM's (Chief Executive Member) of BTC (Bodoland Territorial Council), Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council and North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council. It must be noted here that most of these councils are dominated by the tribal population, and they have played a meaningful role in the victory of the BJP in assembly polls. Now the decision to accord cabinet minister status to the CEM's of these councils will make governance fair and easier. Historically, several governments in Assam in the past had snubbed their proper representation in the governance of the state, but now this decision will make a huge difference.

·   Social Welfare of Tea Tribes

As we all know, Tea is the global identity of Assam and tea tribes in several districts of Assam put their relentless effort in maintaining this global identity of Assam. In one month tenure of the Himanta Biswa Sarma government, an important decision has been taken to increase the daily wage of tea plantation workers to Rs 285 in Brahmaputra valley and Rs 185 in Barak valley. Raising the daily wage of tea workers was the poll promise of BJP, and now the government, in one month, worked in this direction.

·   Making governance easier and effective

No governance model can work effectively till the implementation of the decisions taken is ineffective. To ensure that governance reaches the ground, the Assam government led by Himanta Biswa Sarma appointed guardian ministers. The concept of guardian minister is unique as every cabinet minister will act as guardian minister of 2-3 districts. These ministers will have one secretary, and their role is to ensure that decisions taken by the cabinet are implemented smoothly on the ground. Every month these guardian ministers will visit the districts which come under their ambit.

Reducing the file passing culture, the government also allowed the senior-most secretary of the respective department to release funds for several pensions and social schemes to beneficiaries' bank accounts without taking permission from the finance department every time.

    ·   Creation of Bodoland Welfare Department

For Prime Minister Modi, the development of the Bodoland region has always remained a top priority. Working on the same ethos, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced to creation Bodoland Welfare Department to monitor and focus on developing 4 districts in the Bodoland Territorial Region.

     ·   Taking 26% stake in NRL

In a significant leap for the economy of Assam and also an act that could be seen as a way to uphold the ethos of the Assam Accord, the government raised its stake in Numaligarh Oil Refinery to 26% from the earlier 12.35%. It must be noted that the creation of NRL was part of clause 6 of the Assam accord. By increasing the stake at 26% in NRL, the government has invested 2,187 cr, which is the highest ever investment by the Assam government in any PSU. With this increased share, Assam will now receive 500 crores as a dividend from NRL that would act as a significant source of revenue for the Assam government and will aid in funding developmental schemes.

    ·   Assam government's full-blown battle against Drugs

  Drugs and their illegal trafficking has always remained a severe issue in Assam and northeastern states adding to the crimes in the region. The Assam government, led by CM Sarma, has set an example for the whole nation in the fight against drugs trafficking. In just one month, more than 1,142 persons involved in illegal drugs trafficking were arrested.

  However, beyond the above remarkable steps, the way to assess the performance of CM Sarma is the firm action against illegal inflators that would ensure the protection of the culture and society of Assam. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in one month of his tenure, remained more in headlines for launching a strict eviction drive against Bangladeshi infiltrators and freeing the land from them. On June 7, around 120 bigha land out of the 180 bigha land of a Shiva Temple was freed from illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. Besides, another 400 bighas of encroached land have been freed in districts like Hojai, Karimganj, and Darrang.

 Many of these lands were of Satras and were illegally occupied by Bangladeshi immigrants who pose a demographical threat in Assam. This harsh crackdown against illegal infiltrators positioned him in the media as a tough administrator who is not reluctant to do what is suitable for the state.

 Another reason which kept Himanta Biswa Sarma led the Assam government in the headline was the discussion on the two-child policy. Given the demographical sensitivity in Assam, population explosion is a severe issue in Assam, and Himanta Biswa Sarma led government has made it clear that Assam is working to bring two-child policies. This step would also help to mitigate the demographical disaster that Assam is already facing. No doubt, a section of media, as expected, repainted it with communal colours, but the fact is that now UP, after taking impulse from Assam, is also planning to introduce a similar law.

 This one month of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has shown that he is committed to working on those issues that will have a defining and long-lasting impact on the future of Assam.