Tiwari report on 1983 Nellie Massacre to be tabled in Assam Assembly on Nov 25

Guwahati, Oct 24: The Assam Cabinet on Thursday decided to table the Tiwari Commission report on the 1983 Nellie massacre in the next Assembly session on November 25.

The Tiwari Commission report on the massacre, which took place during the height of the Assam Movement, remains a closely guarded government secret and has never been made public. While the 600-page report was submitted to the Assam government in May 1984, its contents have been suppressed by successive governments. This in turn had attracted widespread criticism on the ground that it denied justice to the victims.

The Cabinet also decided to amend rules to ensure regularization of 12,000 Sarba Shiksha Abhijan teachers.

Another major decision was allotment of land rights to tea tribes families. By amending the relevant Assam land ceiling laws, a total area of 2.90 lakh bigha spread over tea lines in the gardens will be distributed to nearly four lakh families of tea tribes. The size of the plots to be distributed to the families will be decided later through a meeting with district commissioners, MLAs and tea tribes organisations.

“This will lead to sweeping reforms in our land policy over the coming decades,” the Chief Minister said.

On the raging issue of granting of Scheduled Tribe status to six communities, the government will give a detailed report on the issue in the next Assembly session on November 25. “We want to assure every ethnic community that nobody’s interests will be adversely affected,” the Chief Minister said.

By another resolution, the Cabinet decided to boost investment in Assam Petrochemical Ltd to Rs 2,267 crore.

The Cabinet further resolved to streamline the activities of the Zubeen Kshetra in view of the reported anti-social activities and vandalism in the night hours. “We have instructed the DC and the SP concerned to take appropriate measures to maintain the sanctity of the Zubeen Kshetra,” he said.

By

Staff Reporter