Assam: 40 Lakh New Beneficiaries to Get Ration Cards by July End

The Assam Government has decided to expand the food security net by increasing the income criteria for families from existing Rs 2.5 lakh per annum to Rs 4 lakh. This has been initiated to enable more deserving families to apply for new ration cards under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.

This decision was taken in the weekly cabinet meeting held at the Janata Bhawan in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Under this, 40 lakh new beneficiaries will be added by the last week of July 2023 and ration cards will be formally distributed to them.

Another major decision taken in the cabinet meeting today is the creation of the Adivasi Welfare and Development Council as per the Adivasi Accord signed on 15 September 2022. The council will be formed to fulfill the political, economic and educational aspirations; protect, preserve and promote social, cultural, linguistic & ethnic identities; and ensure accelerated and focused development of Adivasi-inhabited areas of Assam.

Meanwhile, Driving Licence (DL) and Registration Certificate (RC) will be completely digitalized from now on. The Transport Department will issue DL and RC in electronic, self-printable PDF format. The issue of QR-based Smart Card will completely stop after three months. The digitalization process will ensure hassle-free citizen-centric public service delivery, will save valuable time and money.

The Assam Government has also decided to compensate families of the Doloo tea estate in Cachar district. Rs 1 lakh each will be paid as compensation to 1,496 casual labour families of the tae estate and Rs 2.50 lakhs each for construction of houses to 173 families who would be displaced for the proposed Greenfield Airport.

The government has also implemented the proposed transfer policy for officers/staff under Assam Secretariat Services and Assam Secretariat Subordinate Service.

The eligibility criteria for the annual transfer are as follows:

·       Tenure of Under Secretary/Deputy Secretary/Joint Secretary/Additional Secretary in a department shall be 3 years

·       Tenure of Section Officer/Assistant Section Officer/Junior Administrative Assistant or Senior Grade Computer Operator/ Computer Operator in a department shall be 5 years

On the other hand, the government will also amend the Sections 2 and 10 of Assam Gratuity Act. The provision of 'continuous service for one year shall not be less than 240 days in a year' to be inserted to clear the explanation how many days of work by employees in a year would make them deemed to be in continuous service.

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