Guwahati: The first Cabinet meeting of the second term of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was held on Tuesday at the No. 1 State Guest House, Koinadhara, in Guwahati. The meeting adopted several important decisions related to governance, legislation, employment, and expenditure control.
The Cabinet approved convening the first session of the new Assam Legislative Assembly on May 21, 22, 25 and 26. Newly elected MLAs will take oath during the session. The Cabinet also decided to request the Governor to appoint senior MLA Chandra Mohan Patowary as the Protem Speaker of the Assembly. After the oath-taking ceremony, the Assembly will elect its permanent Speaker. The BJP-led alliance has already finalised the name of Ranjeet Kumar Dass for the post.
The Cabinet adopted the BJP’s election manifesto as the guiding framework for governance and policy implementation.
A major decision taken during the meeting was the approval of the draft Bill on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which will be introduced during the Assembly session. According to the Cabinet, Scheduled Tribes (Hills) and Scheduled Tribes (Plains) will remain outside the purview of the proposed law. Traditional religious customs, practices and rituals will also be exempted.
The proposed Uniform Civil Code will mainly address four subjects:
- Minimum age of marriage
- Ban on polygamy
- Equal property rights for daughters
- Regulations relating to live-in relationships
To fulfil the government’s promise of providing employment to two lakh youths over the next five years, the Cabinet approved the formation of a task force under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary. The task force will study all aspects of the issue and submit its report within three months.
The Cabinet also approved the closing ceremony of the birth centenary celebrations of Bhupen Hazarika at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on September 8.
Additionally, the government approved the construction of a museum dedicated to Dr. Bhupen Hazarika at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra at an estimated cost of Rs. 32 crore.
The Cabinet approved the appointment of advocate Devajit Saikia as the Advocate General of Assam for the next five years.
In response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to conserve foreign currency reserves, the Cabinet announced several austerity measures for the next six months.
These include:
- No purchase of new government vehicles
- Restriction on foreign travel by government officials and employees except for medical treatment
- Reduction in convoy vehicles of ministers and officials
- Reduction of petrol and diesel expenditure by 20 percent
- No purchase of foreign-made goods by the government
- No physical seminars or workshops by government departments; programmes may be held through video conferencing
- Only electric vehicles to be hired by government departments when required
The Cabinet stated that these measures aim to promote financial discipline and efficient governance during the new term of the government.
