Assam to honour 1,000 farmers with Rs 1 lakh each, says Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the government will honour 1,000 progressive and educated farmers with Rs 1 lakh each this year. He also announced plans for a Youth Welfare Department, support for abandoned wives and Project Sadbhavana 2

Guwahati: The Assam government will honour 1,000 progressive and educated farmers with a cash award of Rs 1 lakh each this year under the newly announced Chief Minister’s Agriculture Excellence Award, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters here, CM Sarma said the initiative was aimed at encouraging educated youth to consider agriculture a viable and modern career option.

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“We must also attract educated youth towards agriculture. Therefore, we have decided to honour 1,000 progressive and educated farmers this year,” CM Sarma said, adding that the awardees would also be introduced to various government schemes related to agriculture and farming.

He said the government plans to recognise 10,000 farmers under the initiative over the next five years.

The Chief Minister said the programme would focus on promoting modern farming practices, strengthening agricultural research and improving productivity so that farmers could become more self-reliant.

CM Sarma also announced plans to establish a dedicated Youth Welfare Department to bring various youth-oriented programmes under a common administrative framework.

The proposed department will bring the National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), employment exchanges and youth-related initiatives in the education sector under one umbrella. It is expected to be launched around September 17, coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday.

The Chief Minister also announced a proposed financial support mechanism for women whose husbands, employed in the Assam government, abandon them without obtaining a legal divorce. Under the proposed measure, 20 per cent of the government employee’s salary would be deducted and transferred directly to the first wife’s bank account if she applies to the government and establishes that her husband has abandoned her and entered into another marriage without a legal divorce.

CM Sarma said departmental proceedings and stringent action would also be initiated against government employees involved in polygamy.

He recalled a previous government initiative under which 10 per cent of the salary of employees who abandoned their parents was transferred to the parents’ bank accounts, describing the measure as successful.

Meanwhile, the state government will launch Project Sadbhavana 2 from October 2 to January 31 to identify and clear pending government files.

CM Sarma said more than three lakh files were pending across departments, directorates and Deputy Commissioner offices.

A dedicated portal will allow citizens to flag pending cases, which will then be forwarded to the concerned authorities for action. He said the earlier exercise in 2021 was conducted manually, while the current drive would use the e-file system to track and analyse pending cases more effectively.