GUWAHATI, April 30 - Alleging that the State government�s decision to implement the recommendations of the HS Brahma-led committee for protection of land rights of the indigenous people has raised more questions than finding an acceptable solution to the problem, the Prabrajan Virodhi Manch (PVM) has asked the State government to clear the ambiguities surrounding the issue.
Addressing the media here today, Manch convener Upamanyu Hazarika said that since there was no clarity on the final recommendations of the committee and no concrete information was available about the findings of the committee, the government�s decision to implement its suggestions has made the people wary about protection of the rights of the indigenous people.
�As has been said, there are two reports of the committee. How is it possible for a single committee to give two reports? If the recommendations of the reports are contradictory, how is it possible to recommend them? There are several other important questions regarding the definition of indigenous, measures for protecting the land rights of the indigenous and also the major question of freeing the land from encroachment of illegal migrants from Bangladesh,� Hazarika said.
The Manch, which has been fighting for the land rights of the indigenous population, further alleged that while the constitution of the committee was widely publicised followed by an equally enthusiastic publicity of the public hearing and submission of the interim report, suspiciously, the final reports were kept away from public attention.
�Apparently, the reports were submitted in January 2018, the government sat over them and issued a press release about the direction to implement the recommendations on April 25, 2018. Certainly, there is more to it than meets the eye,� Hazarika added.
Further hitting out at the State government for supporting the Citizenship Amendment Bill seeking to confer citizenship on Hindus from Bangladesh, the Manch said that it is apparent from the statements of several leaders of the State government that the government has no intention of clearing the encroachments of illegal migrants occupying vast tracts of land in middle and lower Assam.
�The leaders and the workers of the ruling party of Assam very clearly want to fulfil their personal political ambitions at the cost of the rights of the indigenous people, who voted them to power on the issue of safeguarding their identity and existence,� added Hazarika.
