Assam to prepare workforce of 1000 people to check population growth says CM

Assam government will prepare a work force of 1000 people which will be deployed to check population growth especially among the minority community dominated areas.

Replying to a question of Congress MLA, Sherman Ali Ahmed in state assembly on Monday, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “Around 1000 youths from Char Chapori (riverine sand bars) will be engaged to check the population growth in those areas. We are also planning to create a separate work force in the lines of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers who will be tasked to disseminate information pertaining to birth control and distribute contraceptive tools among the women in those areas.”

Sarma added that the government is considering the issue of raising the marriageable age of the girls to 20 years from existing 18 years.


Sarma said, “From 2001 to 2011, if population growth among Hindus in Assam was 10 per cent it was 29 percent in case of Muslim, Owing to less population the lifestyle of Hindu people in Assam has become better with better spacious houses, vehicles besides better education and children becoming doctors and engineers.”

He said that Muslim community dominated area of Baghbar, Chenga and Jaleswar is bearing the load of huge population. “There is now tendency among the Muslim people to search for vacant land and enter forest areas which again brings them in conflict with forest laws.”

He added that there is growing tendency to work outside Assam among the muslim communities which at times make girls vulnerable to human trafficking.” Recently we have rescued nine girls from Kerala from the trap of human traffickers.”

The chief minister said that this has fuelled social tension in the community. “There exists two Assam, one Upper Assam and other Lower and Middle Assam. There is a prevalence of poverty in Lower Assam.”

He said, “We have to delink this whole issue from politics and work to bring the population growth to 5 to 6 percent. I propose to the speaker of the assembly a seven-day tour must be undertaken by MLAs from Upper Assam to lower Assam and a similar tour of lower Assam MLAs to Upper Assam.”

Recently Assam government after discussion with Muslim intellectuals has decided to formed eight sub committees which lay down a roadmap for holistic development of the community in next five years.

Sarma was engaged in discussion with 150 indigenous Muslim intellectuals recently.

Muslims comprise 34% of the 3.12 crore population of Assam, of which 4% are indigenous Assamese Muslims and the remaining are mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims.