A Government is judged by the way it devotes itself to the people who have voted it to govern. Ever Since May 2021, when our Government took responsibility of the welfare of the masses, we have continued to strive to give to them what they deserve. And every day, I ponder over areas that need reforms, and schemes which can be implemented to improve the lives of people.
Out of these, regular musings of mine, have emerged the fact that we need to create jobs not only to fill up vacancies in order to invigorate Government departments, but also to ensure that our youth contributes to effective governance. These days, when I enter the Assam Secretariat, and, at times, when I visit various Departments as well as other districts, I become utterly pleased to see smiling youthful faces all over. They smile because they know that their hard work has earned them these jobs through a competitive and transparent system which has valued merit over other things. I can claim with certainty that when our Government and governance are judged by history, we will get the credit of ensuring the most transparent recruitment process in the State’s history. It is with this spirit in mind that we conducted two more rounds of direct recruitment examinations in the month of September where over 11 lakh candidates (read youths) appeared in an attempt to secure their future and contribute to the State’s growth and prosperity.
On the one hand, we are trying to employ talented youths, on the other hand we also realise that there is always a limit to how many people the Government can employ. Hence, our Government schemes have been tailored to support households who are finding it difficult to meet the challenges of life. Orunodoi 3.0 which we launched last month is an improvisation on our overall idea of meeting basic household needs through women beneficiaries. This will strengthen narishakti, a vision which our honourable Prime Minister has always been working on. The scheme was envisaged and designed to impart self-sufficiency, confidence, and self-reliance to the people. Orunodoi will now encompass more than 37 lakh families with an enhanced allocation of ₹1250 per month. We have structured it in such a way that the vulnerable and the needy get it very timely while those who are not eligible now because of an improvement in their financial standing or a Government job secured by one of the members of their household, are dropped from the list. Over and above this, we have also added 19.92 lakh beneficiaries under the NFSA umbrella by issuing them ration cards. These families will now be able to get free food grains every month. As I write this, over 2.31 crore people receive free rice under the Prime Minister’s Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) covering over 66.86 lakh households in the State. I believe it is our bounden duty to ensure that eligible beneficiaries are not left out of the Government welfare ambit.
Hence, our Government schemes have been tailored to support households who are finding it difficult to meet the challenges of life. Orunodoi 3.0 which we launched last month is an improvisation on our overall idea of meeting basic household needs through women beneficiaries.
Ever since I started understanding governance, I was always perplexed by the fact that a capital city automatically becomes the most important destination for people to come to seek redressal of their grievances. In the process, they spend their valuable time, and hard-earned money in a needless exercise. Travelling all the way from towns of upper Assam and Barak Valley to meet government officials and push for their cause, a right which was always theirs, had been a painstaking exercise for people. Our Government decided that enough is enough. The idea of a CM Secretariat in Dibrugarh, opened recently, is borne of this experience. I can now assure the nearly 8 million people of nine districts of upper Assam that their problems will be solved near their districts rather than Dispur/Guwahati. After all it is for the people that administrators and governance exist. This, in another way, will ensure equity in development, ensure uninterrupted governance and operational efficiency, regardless of whether the Chief Minister is based in Dibrugarh or Dispur.
I recently met a high-level delegation of the 16th Finance Commission to press home the challenges faced by our State. While I highlighted the stride that we have been making on various fronts, I also pointed out to the challenges faced by Assam and the support that is needed for us to continue on our growth trajectory. I sought greater devolution of Central resources to our State to help us overcome geographical and historical challenges that we have been negotiating for no fault of ours.
Among one of the major outstanding issues facing Assam is the implementation of Clause VI of the historic Assam Accord. I recently met a delegation of the All Assam Students’ Union in a very cordial atmosphere to reassure them that our Government is very keen to implement major recommendations of the Justice (Retd) Biplab Kumar Sharma committee to arrive at a point of agreement with all stakeholders. Of course there are certain areas which we do not have control over; however we will do whatever we can, in a spirit of give and take, to see to it that the clauses of the Assam Accord are implemented in letter and spirit.
