ASSAM

TheAssamgovernment said the SDG India Index 2020-21, which has put the state among the bottom five, does not reflect the actual pciture as it was based on old data of National Family Health Survey 4 (NFHS) survey of 2015-16.

According to the third edition of the SDG India Index, which was released by , Assam’s total score from its performance in 16 goals on 115 quantitative indicators and a qualitative assessment on Goal 17, is 57 and has been ranked 26th among 28 states.

The SDG Index says “this poor performance is attributed to the low scores obtained specifically in the two indicators related to rate of crimes and violence against Women, with the rates being highest in the country.” It adds, “The highest rate of crime against women was witnessed in Assam at about 178, followed by the UT of Delhi at 144 crimes per 1,00,000 female Population.”

The SDG Index report has also pointed out that the data for all states and UTs for any particular indicator should not belong to different reference periods for the sake of statistical comparability but in some cases, the Index had to source data from an older edition of the national survey report which covered all or most of the states and UTs.

Union Home ministerAmit Shahwill launch a mobile application here on Thursday that will help people file FIRs or Police complaints without even visiting a police station.
On the eve of his visit to the state to mark the completion of the second year of the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government, the CM said, People will no longer have to go to a police station to lodge a complaint or an FIR. A special mobile application will be launched by the Union home minister for theAssamPolice, which will make the entire process of filing an FIR hassle-free and less time-consuming.
The application has been developed jointly by the Assam Police and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL). An Assam Police source said the app will have 15-20 features, including lodging of FIR, missing complaint and tenant verification, among others.

Of the 1,700 schools that had applied to the fee regulatory committee of the since October last year seeking a certificate of exemption from fee-cuts by the panel for the session 2021-2022, about 95% schools gave affidavits saying their fee structure was well within the maximum limit notified by the state government, said a member of the FRC.

The rest 5% moved the panel to review their plea for allowing them to charge as per their proposed fee structure, higher than the limit fixed by the government. The regulated fees from Classes I to XII were declared by the state government on FRCs recommendation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch development projects, including an Aiims and three medical colleges, worth around Rs 14,300 crore, during a visit to Assam on Friday. Among other projects, Modi will lay the foundation stone of a bridge on the Brahmaputra river connecting Palashbari and Sualkuchi and also launch the beautification exercise of Rang Ghar, Sivasag

He will also lay the foundation stone of Assam Advanced Health Care Innovation Institute (AAHII) and launch ‘Aapke Dwar Ayushman’ campaign by distributing Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) cards to eligible beneficiaries.

The (IRV 2020) was launched in 2005. IRV2020 is an initiative jointly initiated by the Ministry of Forests, the government of Assam, WWF India, the International Rhino Foundation and several other organizations.

The goal of IRV2020 is to increase the number of rhinos in Assam to 3,000 by establishing populations in new areas.

Now rhinos have been found in four Protected Areas in Assam: Pabitola Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajiv Gandhi Oran National Park, Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park.

Only the great one – horned rhinos are found in India. They are also known as the Indian rhinoceros, it is the largest rhino species. It is identified by a black horn and grey-brown leather with skin folds. Five Rhino Mountains countries (India, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia) have signed a declaration “New Delhi Declaration for the Protection of Asian Rhino, 2019”.

Meghalaya govt initiates talks with a terror outfit in hill state

After the Centre’s nod, the Meghalaya government has initiated the process to hold formal talks with the banned militant outfit Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), officials said on Friday. A senior official of the Meghalaya Home Department said that the has appointed retired Ias officer Peter S Dkhar as the interlocutor for facilitating the talks with the HNLC, which also last month offered to hold peace talks with the Centre and the Meghalaya government without any pre-conditions.

The HNLC has claimed responsibility for the low-intensity blasts that took place in recent months in the heart of Shillong and other areas in the state. While militancy is on the decline in Meghalaya over the last several years, but since 2020 the HNLC has been behind a few low-intensity IED blasts in the state. The HNLC, which has been demanding a sovereign Khasi tribal homeland in Meghalaya, is a breakaway faction of the Hynniewtrep Achik Liberation Council, the first tribal militant outfit of the mountainous state, formed in the mid-1980s.

Following a call from PM Narendra Modi, theAssamcabinet on Thursday approved a Comprehensive Action Plan to eliminate all single-use plastics, from carry bags to earbuds withplasticsticks, in the state from this year.

The cabinet also laid down a plan for development of alternatives and scientific disposal of plastic wastes and departments of revenue and Disaster Management, industries and commerce, Science and Technology, urban Environment“>Development and environment and forest will together prepare a roadmap in this regard, the statement tweeted by CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The plan seeks to ban plastic carry-bags less than 75 microns in thickness with effect from September and carry-bags less than 120 microns in thickness with effect from December.

To boost environment conservation, the cabinet also approved a policy for compensatory plantation of trees felled on non-forest land for projects.

The cabinet also fixed speed limits for vehicles in view of increased accidents caused by ovespeeding in the state and will bring out a notification for speed limit on different types of roads and vehicles.

The State is to add 200.32 square kilometre to the Orang . The area to be added consists of Brahmaputra river. It also includes sandbars and islands of the river.
Tigers and Rhinos are using the islands and sandbars that are being included. Orang region in the northern bank of Brahmaputra is essential to Kaziranga Orang Riverine Landscape. This is because animals move between the Orang and Kaziranga stretch through these lands. This stretch is 180 km. It is a corridor connecting two habitats.

Future plans for Kaziranga Orang

Gharials became extinct in the region six decades ago. The Assam Government is planning to reintroduce gharial here.

Significance

The rhinos and Gangetic Dolphins are to be benefitted greatly with the addition of this extra land. It will also benefit 16 species of turtles.

About Orang

Orang is a major rhino habitat. It became a tiger reserve in 2016. The other seven national parks in Assam are Dehing Patkai, Dibru Saikhowa, Manas, Kaziranga, Nameri, Raimona.