HT Bureau
DIPHU, May 16: The Karbi Students & Youth Council (KSYC) and Karbi Farmers Associt (KFA) president Tingku Engti led faction have questioned Himanta Biswa Sarma led BJP government in Assam for awarding the Hills Area Department (HAD) minister to an MLA from the plain areas Jogen Mohan by side-lining the five elected BJP MLAs from the three hills districts of Assam.
In a press meet held here on Sunday at RS Hotel, secretary, KSYC, Bipul Tisso said the hill people have elected all the five BJP candidates to the state assembly from all the five hill constituencies, but none of the five MLAs has been given ministerial berth.
No one from the hill areas has represented in the newly constituted state cabinet. The hill areas of the state have been left out. Questioning the state government Tisso said, “Are the hill areas not part of Assam? Are the hill areas insignificant now in state politics? Are the five MLAs from the hill areas are incompetent and incapable to head a ministry in the state government? Why did the BJP nominate incompetent and incapable person to represent the hill areas in the state assembly?”
Tisso stated the Hill Areas Department (HAD) is the end result of the joint centre-state study on development in the hill areas.
In 1965, a joint centre-state study team was constituted by the then planning commission to study the development programmes of the hill areas of Assam.
The study team was headed by Planning Commission member Tarlok Singh and later, it came to be known as Tarlok Singh Committee. Considering that the problems of the hill districts are significantly different from those of the other parts of Assam, the committee, among other things, suggested the constitution of a planning board for the Assam hills region and appointment of a development commissioner for the hill region of the state. That is how the hill areas department came into existence.
The hill areas department has been a compensation to the hill people of Karbi Anglong (bifurcated in 2016) and Dima Hasao for their opting to remain with Assam when the then Meghalaya Autonomous State was created in 1969; and therefore, conventionally, one of the MLAs of the ruling party from the hill areas is inducted into the state cabinet and placed him in charge of the HAD, though sub-paragraph (3) of paragraph 14 of the sixth schedule to Constitution empowers the governor to place one of his ministers especially in charge of the welfare of the autonomous districts and autonomous regions in the state, Tisso added saying.
“Now a minister from the plains has been placed in charge of the HAD. It hurts the feelings of the hill people because they have strong emotional attachment with the department. One of the MLAs from the hill areas, therefore, should and could have been inducted into the state cabinet and placed in charge of the department,” Tisso lamented.
The press conference was attended by president, KSYC, Prakash Terang; president, KFA, Tingku Engti and others.