GUWAHATI, July 2 - Expressing concern at the State Cabinet�s clearance to the ordinance that allows MSMEs to set up industries without any kind of permission or licence for three years, the Coordination Committee of Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCTOA) today said indigenous tribal people of Assam will never accept this decision of the State government.
Chief convener of CCTOA and general secretary of All Assam Tribal Sangha Aditya Khaklari said the indigenous tribal people, who are already suffering because of encroachment on tribal blocks and belts, would be among the worst to be hit due to the government decision.
�The other indigenous communities also will gradually lose the right over their own land if the ordinance comes into force. By paving the way for converting any kind of land for industrial purpose without any licence or clearance, the government is giving more strength to the powerful lobby of land speculators, non-indigenous businessmen and corporate, who would further manipulate the situation to serve their own interests,� the CCTOA stated.
�We are not against development. But, in the name of development and industrialisation, the agricultural land, eco-sensitive zones, tribal blocks and belts etc., must not be exposed to big corporate,� the committee members stated.
CCTOA lamented that the report of the Brahma Committee on land rights was not made public and even the report of the high-level committee formed for implementation of the Assam Accord, is still not in public domain.
Anchalik Gana Morcha opposes ordinance: The newly formed regional party Anchalik Gana Morcha (Regional People�s Front) also has strongly criticised the State Cabinet�s decision on land conversion for industrial purpose without any prior licence or permission, terming it an �anti-indigenous and anti-farmer� stand of the government which came to power with a promise to protect the land and identity of the indigenous.
In a statement issued here today, the organisation stated that the adamant attitude of the State government reflects its anti-people attitude.
�The people of Assam voted the Sarbananda Sonowal-led BJP government to power over its slogan to protect the �jati-mati-bheti� of Assam. However, first, existence of the Assamese people was challenged through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and now the government is ready to compromise on the land rights of the indigenous people in the name of industrialisation,� chief convener of the Anchalik Gana Morcha and Rajya Sabha Member-elect Ajit Kumar Bhuyan alleged.
