Clause 6 of Assam Accord: Govt to implement 57 key recommendations by April 2025

Guwahati, Sept 5: The Assam government has committed to implementing 57 of the 67 recommendations made by the Justice Biplab Sarma committee regarding Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the decision following a cabinet meeting held on Wednesday.

"We had a thorough discussion on the committee’s report and decided to implement 57 recommendations by April 15, 2025. Discussions with AASU and other organizations will follow," Sarma said.

The 57 recommendations will apply state-wide, excluding Sixth Schedule areas like Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong, and the Bodoland Territorial Region, where further consultations are required.

Clause 6 of the Assam Accord mandates constitutional, legislative, and administrative safeguards for the Assamese people’s cultural and linguistic heritage.

Sarma highlighted that 85% of the recommendations would be implemented, while the remaining would be taken up with the central government.

“The recommendations that will be implemented will be announced in the next three to four days in Guwahati. A group of ministers will also discuss the matter with the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and other organisations in the coming days,” he said.

The Biplab Sarma committee, formed in 2019 in response to mass protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), submitted its report to then Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in 2020, who forwarded it to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The committee's recommendations focus on protecting the rights of indigenous Assamese people, particularly regarding Clause 6 of the Accord.

Among other clauses, the Clause 6 mandates that the names of all foreigners arriving in Assam after March 25, 1971, be detected and removed from the electoral rolls, with steps taken to deport them.

This provision is seen as critical to safeguarding the social, linguistic, and cultural identity of the state's native population.

Earlier during the autumn session of the assembly, Implementation of Assam Accord Minister Atul Bora had assured the House that the government is designing a roadmap to fully implement the clauses of Assam Accord and it will be ready within three months.

He had further added that sub-committees have been established to address the legal and constitutional hurdles in executing the recommendations of the Biplab Sarma Committee, particularly with respect to Clause 6.