GUWAHATI, July 2 - Protection of land of indigenous people of Assam is a must to protect their identity and the committee formed by the Government of India for suggesting measures to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord had also recommended the same, said the All Assam Students� Union (AASU).
Talking to The Assam Tribune, AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya said that time and again, the Government of India had promised that all the recommendations of the panel on Clause 6 would be implemented. Now the government should not go against the recommendations of the committee by allowing transfer of land of indigenous people to the outsiders.
He said the committee had submitted detailed recommendations on protection of land of indigenous people, but unfortunately, the Central and State governments have not even made the report of the committee on Clause 6 public.
Since the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985, the AASU has been demanding that only the indigenous people of the State should have right over land. Bhattacharya pointed out that in the other states of the Northeast, only the indigenous people have the right over land and similar principles should be made applicable in case of Assam. He pointed out that the government had also formed a committee headed by former Chief Election Commissioner HS Brahma to suggest measures for protection of land rights of indigenous people and the report of the committee has also not been made public.
Bhattacharya said that the AASU is not against development or industrialisation of the State, but at the same time, the government should not allow rampant transfer of land of the indigenous people to outsiders in the name of industrialisation. The government should first ensure proper utilisation of all notified industrial areas before expanding to other areas, he added.
The AASU chief adviser also expressed the view that if the government is really interested in development of the MSME sector, it should first give interest waiver on loans taken by small and medium industries during the lockdown as these industries were badly hit during the period. He said the government should also try to give relief to the small and medium industries by waiving the fixed charge on electricity and the industries should be charged only on the power used as most industries are closed during the lockdown period.
The government has given a moratorium on repayment of the loans, but the interest amount will continue to grow and most small and medium industries would not be able to take the financial burden, he added.