Assam Cabinet decisions on administrative reforms

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The State Cabinet took a slew of decisions, including a hike in compensation to lands being acquired by the oil majors in the State, a streamlined system for land allotment for government institutions and a microfinance loan waiver.

There have been woes amongst the landowners in the State that ONGC and OIL have been paying meagre amounts against the lands they acquisition for their operational purposes. However, the Cabinet on Thursday took a decision to pay a minimum of Rs 12 lakh per bigha in towns and their surrounding areas within a diameter of 10 km and Rs 10 lakh per bigha outside beyond it.

The ex gratia payment for people who are killed in man-elephant conflicts has been a meandering process in the State. According to the existing system, the DFO (Divisional Forest Officer) collects the reports first and sends them to the Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) who sends them to the Government at Dispur. However, the Cabinet decided to settle the matter of ex-gratia payments in such cases at the PCCF (Principal Chief Conservator of Forest) level without having to send the file to Dispur.

The approval for the allotment of land for the setting up of government institutions is also a lengthy one. The district-level land advisory committees (DLLACs) take the decision first and send it to the Revenue and Disaster Management (R&DM) Department at Dispur where it takes a lot of time to send back the approval to the deputy commissioners concerned. However, the Cabinet on Thursday empowered the deputy commissioners to allot lands for such purposes after getting approvals from the respective DLLACs. However, this decision will not be applicable in urban areas and for private institutions.

The Cabinet decided to appoint home guard Borsing Bey as a constable for his honesty in the recent seizure of drugs worth Rs 12 crore.

Also Read: Home Guard Borsing Bey to be Appointed as Constable in Assam Police