Himanta distributes appointment letters to 296 tea tribes and Adivasi communities

Guwahati, Jan 12 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday distributed appointment letters to 296 candidates belonging to the Tea Tribes and Adivasi communities, selected for reserved posts through a recruitment examination for various state government departments.

Of the total appointees, 130 candidates have been recruited to Grade-IV posts, while 166 have been appointed to Grade-III posts. They were hired through the Assam Direct Recruitment Examination.

The total number of government jobs provided by the Sarma-led BJP government has reached 1,56,679 during the last five years, officials said.

The state government had earlier appointed candidates from the Tea Tribes and Adivasi communities to the post of teachers on November 12, to various posts under the Assam Police and other directorates of the Home Department on December 8 and to technical and non-technical posts in the Health Department on December 24, they said.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that Assam has emerged as a pioneer in the country by successfully implementing the concept of a common examination to fill vacancies across multiple government departments.

He said that despite the many challenges involved from conducting examinations without irregularities to issuing appointment letters without legal hurdles, the entire process was completed with full transparency.

Ahead of the assembly elections in Assam, the CM also spoke about what his government has done for the tea community.

Sarma pointed out that in recognition of the 200 years of contribution of the tea tribe community to the industry, the administration had decided last year to introduce a 3 per cent reservation for eligible youth from the Adivasi and Tea communities in all Grade-III and Grade-IV state government posts.

During the last assembly election campaign, the government had committed to providing one lakh government jobs but the target has since been exceeded, he said.

He pointed out that under the 3 per cent reservation quota, nearly 1,000 candidates from the Adivasi and Tea communities have been appointed so far this year.

''Such a large number of appointments would not have been possible without the reservation policy and thus a phenomenon capable of triggering far-reaching social change,'' Sarma said.

The chief minister also announced that the 3 per cent reservation for the Adivasi and Tea communities will be extended beyond Grade-III and Grade-IV posts to include Grade-I and Grade-II positions which will pave the way for members of the community to serve in senior roles such as magistrates, police officers and college and university professors.

Highlighting other welfare initiatives, Sarma said that 30 MBBS seats in Assam’s medical colleges were already reserved for tea tribe students.

Recently, the government has announced an additional reserved seat for the community in each medical college, adding 14 more seats.

He further informed that 44 hostels are being constructed across the State for Tea Tribe and Adivasi students, while financial assistance is being extended to youth through the Shahid Dayal Das Panika Self-Employment Scheme.

He also referred to the historic decision taken in the recent session of the Assam Legislative Assembly to grant land rights to residents of tea garden “lines”.

The chief minister also urged the newly appointed candidates to remain rooted in their identity and take pride in their community and family background.

He called upon them to serve the people of tea garden areas with dedication and compassion and to set new standards of work culture by delivering quality public service, especially to the poor and vulnerable, while remaining sensitive to the hardships faced by the people. PTI DG NN