Expanding Doctors' Tenure Among Key Points From Assam Cabinet Meeting

The Assam government on Friday decided to increase the age of retirement of faculty members of government medical colleges from 65 to 70 years.

This was among several important decisions taken during the weekly Assam cabinet meeting. The decision to increase the retirement age was taken so as to augment the availability of experienced doctors for educational and medical service.

Taking to Twitter, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote, “In the #AssamCabinet, we took several key decisions regarding retirement of medical college faculty members, reengagement of ex-HPC workers, medicines for Govt hospitals, service rules of Land Records staff, automated vehicle testing stations, solar power plant, etc.”

The major talking points from today’s cabinet meeting are:

Free Medicines to Hospitals

• 136.8 crore to be sanctioned for implementation of 'Free Drugs and Consumables including Tea Gardens' scheme for 2022-23.

• It will ensure uninterrupted availability of free essential drugs, surgicals, sutured, disinfectants-chemicals and consumables in Govt health facilities.

Reengaging ex-workers of HPC

• 66 former employees/workers of Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd will be reengaged in vacant Grade III & IV posts through a Special Recruitment Drive with relaxation in upper age limit.

Transfer of Assets: ASEB to APDCL

• Issue of Govt notification for transfer of assets and liabilities relating to the transfer of trading function of ASEB to APDCL and consolidated Opening Balance Sheet of APDCL as on 1 April 2009.

• Approval to the Balance Sheet of APDCL as on 31 March 2013 with transfer of residual function of ASEB consequent upon reorganisation of ASEB.

Automated Vehicle Testing Stations

• Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) authorised to set up Automated Vehicle Testing Stations (ATS) on Govt & ASTC land for conducting Fitness Test of vehicles.

• 8 ATSes to be set up in PPP mode on BOOT (Build Own Operate and Transfer) and revenue sharing model.

• The locations where the ATS centres will come up are – Mirza covering Kamrup (Rural) district, North Salmara covering Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Chiang and Kokrajhar districts, Dibrugarh covering Dibrugarh district, Raha covering Nagaon district, Jorhat covering Golaghat, Jorhat and Sivasagar districts, Bihpuria covering Lakhimpur district, Tinsukia covering Tinsukia, Dhemaji and Charaideo districts, and Biswanath covering Biswanath, Sonitpur, Majuli and Karbi Anglong districts in the state.

Hospitality Projects in the Pipeline

• Land to be allotted to Tourism Dept and MoU to be signed between Indian Hotel Company Limited and Assam Tourism Development Corporation for setting up of two hospitality projects at Hatikhuli in Golaghat and Kellyden in Nagaon.

• This will transform Kaziranga National Park into an all-season tourism destination and generate substantial employment opportunities.

New Service Rules for Land Records Staff

Highlights

• Better promotional prospects.

• Compulsory inter-district transfer every 5 years.

Renaming of cadres

• Existing nomenclature of Mandal/Amin/Patwari to be renamed as Land Records Assistant (LRA) and Supervisor Kanungo as Land Records Supervisor (LRS) and Inspector of Land Records as Land Records Inspector (LRI).

Land Records Officer

• Additional cadre of Land Records Officer proposed for encouraging/incentivising land records staff.

Promotion pattern

LRA to LRS

LRS to LRI

LRI to LRO

• LRI and LRO to be gazetted posts

• Examination to be held for recruitment of LRA (Educational qualification-graduate).

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Boost to Green Energy

Solar plant at Namrup

APGCL and OIL to sign a Joint Venture agreement for setting up of a 25 MW Solar Plant on Namrup Thermal Power Station premises with shareholding ratio of 51% (APGCL) and 49% (OIL).

Rs 2,450-cr Joint Venture

MOU to be signed between APDCL and SJVN Green Energy Limited, for creation of a Joint Venture Company (JVC)

• Cost of proposed JVC: Rs 2,450 crore.

• Equity participation: 51% from SGEL and 49% from APDCL.

• The project to generate employment for around 2,000 people during construction stage and 1,000 during maintenance stage.

Registration fees rationalised

Rationalisation/enhancement of registration fees under the Section 78 (a) of the Registration Act, 1908 to improve Ease of Doing Business.

Registration rate of Gift Deed

• 1% for women solely.

• 2% for joint registration with women.

• 3% for male and other juridical person.

• 0.5% if registered with members of the family (nearest blood relation).

Most rates simplified for ease of calculation, thereby simplifying the procedures for common citizens.

Support to kin of deceased Govt employees

Assam Services (Pension) Rules, 1969 to be amended to regularise guidelines and insert Compassionate Family Pension (CFP) Scheme in the rules for providing immediate financial support to families of employees.

Features

• Families of deceased Govt servants, who die in harness, will be able to draw 100% of the last pay drawn by the deceased which shall continue till the deceased's deemed date of superannuation.

• On attaining the age of deemed superannuation, CFP will be converted into normal family pension - to be fixed at 50% of CFP till 67 years of age of the deceased employee. During these 7 years, normal family pension will be revised periodically as and when normal pension is revised.

• On completion of 7 years, normal family pension will be reduced from 50% to 30%.

• This will benefit all State Government employees as well as All India Services Officers (Assam cadre).

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