The Assam government has decided to create a micro-tribal belt for those villages outside the tribal belts of the state. Announcing this, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that a cabinet committee has been set up to oversee this.

Speaking after the cabinet meeting today, Sarma said, "There are many villages outside tribal belts of the state where people of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribe communities reside. Those villages under the tribal belt which have more than 80 per cent SCs and STs will be turned into micro-tribal belt."

"A three-member cabinet committee including Ranoj Pegu, UG Brahma and Pijush Hazarika has been created to look after the matter. This committee will give us the names of the villages to be included under the micro-tribal belt by September 15, which we will notify later."

The Assam Chief Minister also said that the government will seek applications from the people residing in these villages for granting micro-tribal belt status.

Earlier, The Assam cabinet announced plans to curtail sale of land surrounding 'heritage structures' by declaring the area as protected. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that transactions of such pieces of land can only be between families residing there for three generations or more.