GUWAHATI, April 29 - With the much expected expansion of the ministry and reallocation of the portfolios of the ministers over, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today said that all the ministers would now have to work extra hard to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the people of the State. He also expressed the hope that the process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) would be completed without any hiccup.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Sonowal admitted that all the ministers would have to be on their toes and fulfil their responsibilities. �The people of Assam have very high expectations from the Government and we must all work together and carry out our responsibilities,� he added.
Sonowal said that the performance of all the ministers would be reviewed and they would be given targets. He pointed out that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has started monitoring all major projects that are being carried out all over the country and a similar system would be evolved to monitor the process of implementation of the major projects of all the departments. �The ministers are aware of their roles and responsibilities and I am confident that they would be able to deliver to the expectations of the people,� he added.
The Chief Minister refused to be drawn into the controversy regarding the comments made by a few senior leaders of the BJP following the reshuffle of the ministry and only said that the present Government would be guided by the people of Assam. �The party president has already given his comments on the issue and I do not want to be drawn into any such controversy. But I can only assure the people that our Government will work according to the wishes of the people,� he added. He also said that all the ministers, legislators and Members of Parliament are working as �Team Assam� and they would continue to work in the same manner.
On the process of updating the NRC, Sonowal expressed the hope that the process would be completed without any hiccup. He said that the people of Assam have been extending full cooperation to the process and the first draft was published without any problem. He said that with the cooperation of all, the final draft would also be published without any problem. �I am confident that the process of updating the NRC would be completed without any problem by the date stipulated by the Supreme Court. The State Government is extending full cooperation to the process and 50,000 officials are working round the clock. The Centre is also extending full cooperation and additional forces as sought by the State have also been provided to deal with any situation,� he added.
However, the Government is yet to take a decision on what would be done with the persons identified as foreign nationals after the completion of the process of updating the NRC. Replying to a question on the issue, Sonowal said, �let the process of updating the NRC complete and then the Government would have to take a decision.�
The Chief Minister also hoped that the process of repairing the damaged embankments would be completed before floods this year. He said that he has been personally monitoring the progress of repairing the damages caused by floods last year, while, the concerned Minister is also monitoring the process. He pointed out that last year also, the Government managed to repair the damaged embankments before the onset of monsoon season and this time also, the repair works are expected to be completed on time.
Sonowal also asserted that the drive against corruption would continue and assured the people of the State that the Government would not bow down to any pressure in this regard.
