My latest meeting with the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji in New Delhi in the last week of July was yet another example of love the Prime Minister has for the people of Assam. I extended a formal invitation to him to grace our State with his presence and kick-off the centenary celebration of the Bard of Assam Dr. Bhupen Hazarika beginning September 8. Modi Ji, the man that he is, has not only encouraged us to go all out for a grand celebration befitting the man that the Sudakantha was, but also assured of his presence. He will also inaugurate a couple of major industrial projects which will convey a continuum of Assam’s massive industrial surge in recent times. I conveyed to him how Assam has inched up on social and economic indices. All these would not have been possible without the relentless support of the Prime Minister and his vision for the North East, something which no other dispensation at the Centre had. In fact, I also met several Union Ministers during this visit, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Ji. In all these meetings, the one commonality was the satisfaction that ministers had for the social and economic achievements of our Government in Assam.
To free Assam and its pristine and holy land of encroachment, our Government has displayed a no-nonsense approach. Continuing with the drive to free them of any illegal settlement, we have managed to secure thousands of hectares of land by persuasion, force and the rule book. Yes, we have been relentless because the people of Assam had enough. One cannot use our inherent goodness to exploit us politically. The Satras and our forest lands are not the place for encroachment and exploitation. Enough is enough. I want to state it loud and clear that this will continue till we free every square inch. It is not our Government that is leading this drive, it is the people’s will and mandate that is spearheading this action. Our idea is not to harass the indigenous and the sons of the soil, our mission is to stop exploitation of our people, land and resources. To put it in context, and to show to the cynics what we have achieved, let me reiterate what we have done. We have freed 160 square kilometres of land from encroachment in the last four years. This is bigger than the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Name me one State that is facing a gargantuan problem like this. We are losing land annually to erosion and flood; we cannot afford to lose it to encroachment. We have already started utilising these lands for productive purposes, and in due course one will notice the outcome of the drive. This short-term pain for few was important for the long-term gains of many.
We have continued our infrastructure upgrade mission across Assam, especially Dibrugarh, the second capital of our State. Upper Assam was long deprived of its true place in the annals of Assam’s post-independence history. Let us not forget that the Ahoms had ruled from here for nearly 600 years. Let us also not forget that it continued to be the economic engine of the State with its oil, gas and tea. My Government has realised the debt of gratitude we have for the people, and as a gesture we want to ensure that the region gets its due importance. An Assembly, a hostel for the MLAs, and other supporting infrastructure is what we have planned for the short to medium term. We will continue to think and plan how to boost this part of Assam with our vision despite some geographical bottlenecks.
Our Government has recently approved a landmark policy decision that will secure the future of our youth and give them their place in the world. We have decided to impart them training or an opportunity to learn a foreign language to enhance their skill set, and take a shot at the various opportunities that exist for them around the world. The idea that they need to look for employment in and around their own State, or at best, within Bharat will be challenged through this initiative. To begin with, we will be targeting 180 youths with the Japanese language. Once we analyse the outcome, we will plan its expansion by bringing in more youths and more languages under its ambit. The scheme CM-FLIGHT will ensure that our youths can dream big and give wings to their ambition. As a Government, we can only act as a facilitator in helping them achieve this
We recently appointed seven vice chancellors in one go to helm various universities spread across Assam. These appointments will set in motion our commitment to higher education to create world class institutions. The pressure on two of our oldest universities to manage academics and affiliated colleges was getting beyond a point of control. It was therefore important that we set in motion a pragmatic approach to streamline higher education whose results we will see in the coming decade.
