Assam: Centre Likely To Sign Peace Accord With Adivasi Militants, Says CM Sarma

CM Himanta said that the government has found a gap of 50 lakh beneficiaries while linking the Aadhar card with the ration card in the state.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma addresses a press conference (Source: PTI)

New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday that the central government can sign a peace agreement with the state’s Adivasi communities within September, as reported by news agency PTI. Himanta said that the government has found a gap of 50 lakh beneficiaries while linking the Aadhar card with the ration card in the state. “The central government is likely to sign a peace accord with militant groups from the Adivasi communities of Assam within this month,” Sarma said.

Sharma said, "We have found that around 50 lakh beneficiaries have not come (for the service). Some people might have died and some might have moved to other places due to marriages. Unfortunately, there were some fake ones also." 

Addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Sharma said that due to these missing beneficiaries, the government would save a lot of money which it would use to add the right people to the list. "We will bring in a set of new 50 lakh people under the ambit of the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Today's cabinet discussed all these points," he added.

Sharma said that about 62,000 people were found ineligible under the 'Orunodoi' scheme, while 2,000 people voluntarily refused to take benefits under this scheme. 

The state government gives an amount of Rs 1,250 monthly to about 20 lakh beneficiary families under this scheme. He said, “The Orunodoi month is getting over on September 20. We will know the exact number of exclusions then only. I hope one lakh new beneficiaries will be added in place of the exclusions."

Without giving detailed information in this regard, the Chief Minister said that this process is being completed under the initiative of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

(With PTI Inputs)