অসমৰ উচ্চশিক্ষা ৱ্যৱস্হা

অসমৰ উচ্চশিক্ষা ৱ্যৱস্হা

দিপাংকৰ চৌধুৰী

ভৱানীপুৰ, অসম ৷

        ভাৰতীয় শিক্ষা ৱ্যবস্হাৰ বিষয়ে কোৱা  আৰাম্ভ কৰিলে শেষ কৰাটো অসম্ভৱ৷ আজিৰ যুগত ভাৰতীয় শিক্ষা ৱ্যবস্হাটোৰ ওপৰত কাৰ কিমান আস্হা আছে সেই বিষয়ে নতুনকৈ কোৱাৰ হয়তো প্ৰয়োজন নাই৷ বিশ্বৰ আটাইতকৈ পুৰণি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয থকা দেশখনৰ শিক্ষা ৱ্যবস্হাটো ইমানে উন্নতমানৰ যে পিয়নৰ চাকৰিৰ কাৰণে LLB, BE, MBA, PhD, M Phil ডিগ্ৰী থকা নিবনুৱাৰ লানি নিচিঙা ভিৰ৷ শিক্ষা এনেকুৱা মানদন্ডৰ যত উচ্চ শিক্ষা লোৱাৰ পিছতো নিজে নিজৰ ভৰিত থিয় হব নোৱাৰে৷ অৱশ্যে আজিৰ বিষযবস্তু অসমৰ উচ্চ শিক্ষাৰ দুটামান কামৰ বৰ্ননা৷ বহুত দিনৰ পৰা ভাবি আছিলোঁ এই বিষয়ত কিবা অলপ লিখিম বুলি। পিছে আজি অসমৰ উচ্চ শিক্ষাৰ জাননী খন পাই লিখিম বুলিএ থিৰাং কৰিলো । আজি কেইদিন মান আগত অসমৰ শিক্ষা বিভাগৰ পৰা M Phil আৰু PhD ৰ যিকোনো এটাৰ হে মাৰ্ক দিব বুলি কিবা এখন Notification ওলাইছিল ৷ এই খবৰটো মোৰ লগত একেলকে B.Sc আৰু M.Scত পঢ়া বন্ধু দুজনমানৰ মূৰত বিনা মেঘে বজ্ৰপাত পৰা দি পৰিল কাৰণ তেওলোকে সকলো কাম এৰি চৰকাৰী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ত PhD কৰি আছে আৰু মইও এখন ব্যক্তিগত বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ত M Phil কৰি আছো , গতিকে খবৰটো মই তেওলোকৰ পৰা তেনেধৰনে পালো আৰু দিয়াৰ মূল কাৰণ PhD আৰু M Phil ত মাত্ৰ দুই নম্বৰৰ পাৰ্থক্য ৷

 আজি আকৌ খবৰ পলো যে সেইখন পুনৰ আঁতৰাই ললে। কথাটো এইটো নহয় যে Interviewত কত কিমান মাৰ্ক দিছে ,কথাটো হল উচ্চ শিক্ষাত শিক্ষক নিযুক্তিত ইমান সঘনাই নিয়ম পৰিৱৰ্তন হোৱাটো এককেবাৰে শুভ লক্ষণ নহয়। ঠিক আছে মানি লোৱা হ'ল পৰিৱৰ্তন প্ৰকৃতিৰ নিয়ম। তেতিয়া হলে পৰিৱৰ্তনতো সেইসকলৰ লগতো হব লাগিছিল যিসকল আজিৰ inflationary  মাৰ্কিং চিষ্টেমৰ পঢ়া নাছিল। দহ -বাৰ বছৰ আগৰ প্ৰথম বিভাগৰ প্ৰথম আৰু আজিৰ জনৰ মাজত জানো জ্ঞানৰ ভেদ আছে। হয় আছে, আগৰ জনে 60 শতাংশ  পাই  সেই স্থান পাইছিল আৰু আজিৰ  জনে 90  শতাংশ পাই সেই স্থান পাই। তাত দোষ কাৰ? কাৰোতো নাই । তেতিয়া হলে কিয় নিযুক্তিৰ সময়ত কেৱল নম্বৰ চিষ্টেমেৰে তেওঁলোকক জোখ লোৱা হৈছে, কিয় দুয়ো জনৰ পৰা সেই একেই 20 শতাংশ বা 25  শতাংশ ই লোৱা হৈছে। M Phil, PhD বাদ দিলোঁ আৰু যদি কিবা ডিগ্ৰী ও আছে তেতিহলেও আগৰ সকলে আজিৰ এই নতুন মাৰ্কিং চিষ্টেম ৰ লগত ফেৰ মাৰিব  নোৱাৰে। তেতিয়াহলে ভুল হৈ থকা নাই নে ব্যৱস্থাটোত। বিষয়টো বহুত গভীৰ। উপলব্ধি কেৱল সেইসকলেহে কৰিব যাৰ লগত তেনে হৈছে ৷

       অসমতো একেখন এ, তেতিয়াহলে GU, Cotton, DU  কাৰো মাৰ্কিং চিষ্টেমৰ মাজত সামঞ্জস্য নাই কিয়? কোনোবাই যদি কৈছে 8 মানে প্ৰথম বিভাগ কৰবাত আকৌ সেই একেই grade ত 75 ৰ ওচৰ পাই । কিমান যে confusion !  কিয় মাৰ্কিং চিষ্টেম তো একে হব নোৱাৰে? যদি অসমৰ উচ্চ শিক্ষা বিভাগে API চিষ্টেমৰেই ভৱিষ্যতে নিযুক্তি দিব বিচাৰে তেন্তে এইবোৰ কথা গুৰুত্ব সহকাৰে লোৱা উচিত।অসমৰ উচ্চ  শিক্ষাত   বহুত গৱেষণাৰ অভাৱ আছে যেন মোৰ ব্যক্তিগতভাৱে অনুভৱ হয় । সিদ্ধান্তব বোৰ গৱেষণাৰ ভিত্তিত হব লাগে যাৰ দ্বাৰা সকলো শ্ৰেণীৰ মানুহে অনাগত দিনবোৰত উপকৃত হব পাৰে ৷

Previous Notification: 05/01/2018

Latest Notification: 30/01/2018

হেলিকপ্টাৰত প্ৰথম অনুভৱ আৰু নাক-কাটি পাহাৰৰ যাত্ৰা৷

হেলিকপ্টাৰত প্ৰথম অনুভৱ আৰু নাক-কাটি পাহাৰৰ যাত্ৰা৷

   

দিপাংকৰ চৌধুৰী৷

ভৱানীপুৰ, বৰপেটা৷

            মোৰ এটা বহুদিনীয়া হেঁপাহ! বন্ধুবোৰৰ সৈতে বঙাইগাঁওস্থিত নাককাটি পাহাৰ বগাই শিখৰত উপনীত হোৱা আৰু তাৰ নৈসৰ্গিক দৃশ্য উপভোগ কৰা ,লগত এটা হেঁপাহ নতুনকৈ সংযোজন হৈছিল চিৰাং জিলাৰ আই নদীৰ পাৰত আয়োজন কৰা দৈজিং (নদী) উৎসৱত পোন প্ৰথমবাৰৰ বাবে আগমণ ঘটা হেলিকপ্টাৰত উঠাৰ অনুভৱ লোৱা ৷ গতিকে,ফোনযোগে হেলিকপ্তাৰৰ টিকত ২৮/১২/২০১৭ ইং তাৰিখত বুক কৰি একেলগে দুইটা হেপাহ পুৰণ কৰিম বুলি ঠিৰাং কৰি লৈ ২৭/১২/২০১৭ ইং তাৰিখে ভৱানীপুৰৰ পৰা এজন ভাইটিৰ লগত মোৰ বাইকেৰে বঙাইগাওলৈ যাত্ৰা আৰম্ভ কৰিলো ৷ৰাতিপূৱা ৮ বজাতেই ওলাইছিলো যদিও কিছু সমস্যাৰ বাবে যাত্ৰা ৯ বাজাত আৰম্ভ হৈছিল ৷ প্ৰায় ১১:৩০ বজাত আমি বঙাইগাঁও গৈ পাও আৰু তাত আমাৰ বাবে ৰৈ থকা বন্ধু সুমিত আৰু তাৰ বন্ধু নৱ আৰু নৱৰ ভাইটিক লগ পাওঁ ৷ সুমিত আৰু নৱ একেলগে বঙাইগাওঁ কলেজত শিক্ষকতা কৰে আৰু নৱৰ ভাইটি বজালী কলেজৰ ছাত্ৰ ৷ সিহঁতে আমাক নাককাটি পাহাৰৰ কাষলৈ লৈ যায় ৷ 

নাককাটি পাহাৰ পোৱাৰ কিছু আগেয়ে এখন জৰাজীৰ্ণ বাহঁৰ দলঙেৰে বৰ বিপদসংকুলভাৱে এখন এখনকৈ আমাৰ বাইকবোৰ পাৰ কৰো ৷ পাহাৰৰ কাষত গৈ পোৱাৰ পিছত স্থানীয় ডেকা কেইজনমানে তৈয়াৰ কৰা বাইক পাৰ্কিংত বাইককেইখন পাৰকিং কৰো ৷ বন্ধু নৱ আৰু তাৰ ভাইটিএ আমাক বাট দেখুৱাই আগুৱাই লৈ যায় ৷ তাৰ পিছত আমাৰ আৰম্ভ হয় দুঃসাহসিক যাত্ৰা ৷

আমাৰ দেহৰ নিয়ন্ত্ৰন ৰাখিবলৈ আমাৰ হাতত আছিল একোডালকৈ লাঁঠি ৷ লুংলুঙীয়া, থিয়, পাহাৰীয়া শিলেৰে ভৰি থকা ৰাস্তাটো বৰ বিপদসংকুল আছিল ৷ অসাৱধানৱসত ভৰি পিচল খালে তাৰ পৰিণাম কি হ'ব ভাবিয়েই বুকু কঁপি উঠে ৷ এনেকৈ কিছুুদূৰ গৈ আমি আমাৰ লগত লৈ যোৱা বিস্কুত ,পানী ,কল, কণী, কেক ইত্যাদি খাই কিছু জিৰণি লৈ পুনৰ যাত্ৰা আৰম্ভ কৰো ৷ এনেকৈ গছৰ ঠাল-ঠেঙুলি, শিল ইত্যাদিত ধৰি কোনোমতে প্ৰথম পাহাৰখন পাৰ হওঁ ৷ ভাগৰত লেবেজান হৈ আমি প্ৰথম পাহাৰখনৰ ওপৰত স্থানীয়লোকে পৰ্যটকৰ সুবিধাৰ্থে অস্থায়ীভাৱে নিৰ্মান কৰা চাংঘৰ এটাত কিছুসময় জিৰণি লওঁ ৷

তাত তেওঁলোকে অৰ্ডাৰ অনুযায়ী ভাত বনাই বিক্ৰি কৰে যদিও সিদিনাখন তেওলোকে দোকানখন বন্ধ ৰাখিছিল৷ প্ৰথমখনতকৈ দ্বিতীয়খন পাহাৰৰ যাত্ৰাপথ আৰু বেছি বিপদসংকুল হ'ব ধৰিল ৷ লাহে লাহে পঠবোৰ থিয় হ'বলৈ ধৰিলে ৷ কেইখোজমান আগবাঢ়িয়ে ভাগৰত আগবাঢ়িব নোৱাৰা হ'লো ৷ অদম্য হেঁপাহ আৰু উদ্যমত আমি হাৰ নামানিলো ৷ গৈয়েই থাকিলো ৷ গৈ গৈ দ্বিতীয়খন পাহাৰ পাৰ হৈ তৃতীয়খন পাহাৰ অৰ্থাৎ আমাৰ মূল লক্ষ্যস্থানৰ দাঁতি পাওঁ ৷ শৰীৰে নোৱাৰে, উদ্যমে হাৰ নামানে! উশাহ চুটি, অৱশ শৰীৰ আৰু প্ৰচণ্ড আত্মবিশ্বাসী মনবোৰ লৈ পুনৰ আগবাঢ়িব ধৰিলো ৷ এৰি থৈ অহা পথবোৰৰ তুলনাত নতুন পথবোৰ অধিক দূৰ্গম হৈ পৰিল! বাৰে বাৰে পিচলি পৰিব খোজো ৷ বন্ধু নৱৰ মনোবল আৰু উদ্যমৰ সাহসতে আমি আগবাঢ়ি থাকিলো ৷ অক্সিজেনৰ পৰিমান কিছু কমাৰ বাবেই হয়তো কেইখোজমান গলেই ভাগৰি পৰিছিলো আমি! পিয়াহত অন্ঠ-কণ্ঠ শুকাই গৈছিল ৷ হৃদস্পন্দন খৰতকীয়া হৈছিল ৷ মুঠতে আৰু আগনাবাঢ়ে খোজ‍…! কিছু জিৰণি লৈ মনত উদ্যমৰ জোৱাৰ আনি চিঞৰি উঠো আৰু আগবাঢ়ো ৷ কিছুদূৰ গৈ আৰু ৰৈ যাওঁ ৷ আগবাঢ়িলেই খোজবোৰ পিছুৱাই আহিব খোজে! অলপ আগবাঢ়িয়ে গছ এডালত দেহটো এৰি দি অলপ ভাগৰ কমাও, আৰু আগবাঢ়ো ৷ যেন গৈ নাপামহে! এনেদৰে কিছুদূৰ যোৱাৰ পিছত আমাৰ আগে আগে যোৱা দল এটিৰ আনন্দোল্লাসৰ কিৰিলি শুনিবলৈ পালো ৷

সিহঁতৰ চিঞৰবোৰ শুনিয়েই প্ৰচুৰ উদ্যমমেৰে আগবাঢ়ি গৈ আমি প্ৰায় আঢ়ৈ ঘন্টাৰ অন্তত নাককাটি পাহাৰৰ শিখৰত গৈ উপস্থিত হওঁ ৷ ভাগৰত অৱশ শৰীৰ, মনত সফলতাৰ আনন্দ ৷ অলপসময় জিৰণি লৈ বন্ধুবৰ্গৰ সৈতে আনন্দোল্লাস কৰিলো ৷ মনৰ আনন্দতে চিঞৰিলো ৷ কথাৰে বুজাব নোৱাৰা এটা পৰিৱেশ ৷নাককাটি পাহাৰৰ শিখৰত বহি ফটো উঠিলো ৷ বন্ধু বৰ্গকো ফটো তুলিলো ৷ 

প্ৰায় ২ ঘন্টামান সময় আমি তাত কটাই অহাবাটেই আমি উভটিব সিদ্ধান্ত ললো যদিও তা়ত আগতে কেইবাবাৰো যোৱা বন্ধু নৱৰ নাক-কাটিৰ পৰা সূৰ্য্য অস্ত যোৱা দৃশ্য চোৱাৰ হেপাহৰ কথা আমাক জনালে ৷ তাৰ কথাত আমিও সহমত দিলো আৰু কথামতে কাম৷ সময়বোৰ বাগৰাৰ লগে লগে বেলিটো লাহে লাহে আমাৰ চকুৰ আগৰ পৰা নাইকিয়া হৱ ধৰিলে ৷ সচাকৈ সেই দৃশ্য আছিল অতিকে মনোমোহা৷ 

সকলোখিনি প্ৰাকৃতিক দৃশ্য উপোভোগ কৰি আমাৰ উভতি অহাৰ সময় হৈছিল ৷ আমাৰ কাৰণে নাক কাটিৰ ঠিয় পাহাৰৰ পৰা আন্ধাৰনিশা খোজকাঢ়ি নামি অহাটো পাহাৰ বগোৱাতকৈও বেছি ভয়ানক হৈ উঠিছিল ৷ খোজবোৰৰ নিয়ন্ত্ৰন ৰখাটো বৰ কষ্টকৰ৷  ইতিমধ্যে আন্ধাৰ হৈছিল, আমি সকলোৱে এখন হাতত মোবাইলত টৰ্চ জলাই লৈ আৰু আনখন হাতত লাঠিডাল লৈ তললৈ নামিবলৈ আৰম্ভ কৰিলো  ৷

নামি অহাৰ সময়ত আমাৰ লগত পাণী অলপো নাছিল আৰু ১ ঘন্টা একেৰাহে নামি অহাৰ ফলত অত্যাধিক পিয়াহ লগা কাৰণে  পাহাৰৰ মাজেৰে বৈ অহা নিজৰাৰ পানীয়ে খাইছিলো৷ 

উভতি অহাৰ সময়তো আমি বহুবাৰ জিৰণি লৈছো আৰু প্ৰায় ২ ঘন্টা পিছত আহি পাহাৰৰ তল পাইছো আৰু এনেদৰেই আমি জীৱনৰ এটি দুঃসাহসিক অভিজ্ঞতাৰ সাক্ষী হৈ ৰৈছিলো৷

            নিশা সুমিতৰ ঘৰত (বঙাইগাওঁ) কটাই ২৮/১২/২০১৭ ত ৰাতিপুৱা ১০ বজাত আই নদীৰ পাৰত সুমিত আৰু মোৰ লগত যোৱা ভাইটিজনৰ সৈতে উপস্হিত হওঁ৷ তাত অস্হায়ী টিকট ঘৰত টিকটৰ টকা জমা দি সুমিত আৰু মই জীৱনৰ প্ৰথম বাৰৰ বাবে হেলিকপ্টাৰত উঠো৷  ভাগ্যৰ কাৰণে হয়তো মই অকলে পাইলতৰ ওচৰত বহিব সুবিধা পাইছিলো৷ হেলিকপ্টাৰত উঠাৰ একমাত্ৰ হেপাহৰ কাৰণ জীৱণত প্লেনত উঠা সুবিধা পিছত বহুত পাই থাকিম কিন্তু হেলিকপ্টাৰত উঠা সুবিধা অকল মন্ত্ৰী হলেহে পাম এনেকুৱা কিছুমান চিন্তা কৰিছিলো৷ হেলিকেপ্টাৰেৰে আমাক প্ৰথমে ভূটান পাহাৰ পিছত বঙাইগাওঁ ৰিফাইনেৰী, মানাস অভয়াৰণ্য আৰু কলামাটি নামৰ বনভোজ থলী এখনৰ ওপৰে ওপৰে লৈ যায় লগতে আই নদী, পথাৰ আৰু ৰাস্ত্ৰীয় ঘাই পথৰ ওপৰেদি ঠাই বিলাক দেখুৱাই  লৈ যায় ৷ হেলিকপ্টাৰত উঠা মানুহ প্ৰথম দিনাখন খুবেই সেৰেঙা আছিল, গতিকে পাইলট জনে আমাক অতিৰিক্ত ভাৱে বহুত দুৰলৈ লৈ গৈছিল৷ ওপৰৰ পৰা ঠাইবিলাক চাব সচাকৈ বহুত আকৰ্ষণীয় বিষেশকৈ পাহাৰ, নদী, পথেৰে গৈ থকা গাড়ী আৰু লগতে ঘৰ বিলাক ৷ ইমানখিনি ঠাই আমি বাইক বা গাড়ীৰে ভ্ৰমন কৰি ১ দিনত চোৱাটো একেবাৰে অসম্ভৱ ,কিন্ত হেলিকপ্টাৰত মাত্ৰ ২০ মিনিটৰো কম সময়ত সকলোখিনি সম্ভৱ হৈ উঠিছে৷

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    নাককাটি পহাৰ আৰু হেলিকপ্টাৰৰ অনুভৱ চিৰস্মৰণীয় হৈ ৰব কিয়নো একেলগে দুটা দিনত দুটা বিপৰীত দুশত অনুভৱ পাইছিলো ৷ এফালে কস্ট আৰু পদে পদে বিপদৰ সম্মুখীন হৈ গন্তব্য স্হানত উপনীত হোৱাৰ আনন্দ আৰু আনফালে ওপৰে ওপৰে হেলিকপ্টাৰত উঠি মন্ত্ৰী, জন-প্ৰতিনিধিৰ নিচিনাকৈ বানপিড়ীতৰ বুজ লোৱা, যত নাই কোনোধৰণৰ প্ৰকৃতিৰ লগত আত্মীয়তা আছে মাথো যান্ত্ৰিকতা ৷

Agriculture – The backbone of state economy in Assam

Agriculture – The backbone of state economy in Assam

Dipankar Choudhury, Asstt. Professor,
Dept. of Mathematics, Commerce, Bhawanipur Anchalik College

Introduction: Assam Agriculture is the primary sector in the state's economy. The socioeconomic
condition of Assam largely depends on its agricultural production. Though India is
becoming one of the rapidly developing countries, some states, especially Assam, are not being
able to escape from taking help of huge sectors like Agriculture. Compared to most other states
in India, Assam is considered a less developed state, which depicts a gloomy picture the
economic condition of the state given that India is considered a less developed country (LDC).
Agriculture plays the chief role of revenue earning in Assam economy. The state of
Assam experiences plenty of rainfall and possesses a fertile land which is extremely
advantageous for cropping. While the socio-political problems afflicting the state since the last
few decades are partly to blame for a lack of conductive environment for economic development
of the state, particularly in industry or service-oriented areas, there are various economic reasons
(e.g., fragmented land) responsible for the lagging agricultural sector in the state. In this topic we
will discuss agriculture sector in Assam’s economy and its major problem.
Importance of Agriculture in the State Economy:
Assam's economy is fundamentally based on agriculture. Over 70 percent of the state's
population relies on agriculture as farmers, as agricultural laborers, or both for their livelihood. A
majority of state's population, almost 90 percent of an estimated 22.4 million in 1991, live in
rural areas where the mainstay of business is production agriculture. In terms of the state
domestic product (SDP), the agriculture sector contributed over 38 percent of the state income in
1990-91.
Assam produces both food and cash crops. The principal food crops produced in the state
are rice (paddy), maize (corn), pulses, potato, wheat, etc., while the principal cash crops are tea,
jute, oilseeds, sugarcane, cotton, and tobacco. Although rice is the most important and staple
crop of Assam, its productivity over the years has not increased so much compare to the other
state in India while other crops have seen a slight rise in both productivity and land acreage. Tea
is the also most important cash crop in Assam and the state is well known world-wide for its tea.
The total land area under tea cultivation (gardens) was estimated at over 229,000 hectares in
1989, employing an average of over half-a-million people per day. In addition, a considerable
number of Assam's population depends on secondary and tertiary sectors-related to the tea
industry.
Information provided by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics on the number, area
and average size of operational holding in Assam in 1995-1996 is:

§ TOTAL AREA AND CLASSIFICATION OF AREA OF ASSAM, 1995-1996 :
a. Total geographical area 78,43,800Hect.
b. Forest 20,12,319Hect.
c. Area not available for cultivation 24,55,613Hect.
d. Net area sown 25,45,000Hect.
e. Total cropped area 36,94,000Hect.
f. Area sown more than once 12,15,195 Hect.
g. Cultivable waste land 88,043 Hect.

Out of the above net area sown, 3 to 5 lakh hectares are affected by flood to various degrees
annually.

Flaw in the agriculture progress in Assam
Agricultural development problems and economic development problems go hand-in-hand in
Assam. Thus, while most of the development problems discussed below are agriculture-related,
some of these are also related to the economic development problems in Assam.
(1)Natural calamities:Floods and dry spells are the principal natural disasters faced by
farmers in Assam every year. The principal source of floods is the Brahmaputra river
and its tributaries.Flood is highly ruinous for crop production. During 1991-92, the
state of Assam witnessed three floods in one year which has caused a heavy loss to the
cultivation sector damaging a cropping area of around 3.5 lakh hectares. Therefore,
flood control is very important and should be given foremost priority to save the crops
in Assam. In spite of such a terrible loss in crops during 1991-92, the state received
31.85 tonnes of rice and it covered around 70 percent of the total cultivated land.
The oilseed production of the agricultural sector in Assam has been looming large on
the other hand with a production of 1.9 lakh tonnes during 1990-91. The pulses covered
an area of 1.2 lakh in the same year with a production rate of 53,000 MT. The increase
in the usage of fertilizers has been a real boost up for the crop production in Assam.
Besides, multiple cropping system has been adopted by the farming community and
this has augmented the crop production up to 145 percent during 1991-92 as compared
to the 140 percent in the previous year. This multiple cropping system has also enabled
the agricultural sector of Assam to take up various modernization schemes since 1992-
93.
Assam agriculture is now focusing on horticulture segment of the state. Horticultural
crops of Assam agriculture such as coconut, citrus, banana, black pepper, and papaya
have been placed on the priority list and a range of plantation materials have been
ordered for these crops to increase its productivity. Sugarcane is claimed to be one of
the main cash crops in the Kharif season in Assam. Also various pesticides and other
protection measures are being taken up by the agricultural department of Assam to
assure safety to the plantation in the state. All these have contributed to the state's
marked productivity in agriculture to a great extent and with the advent to newer
schemes; the agriculture of Assam will soon reach the peak of fecundity.
(2)Capital deficiency:Commercial capital, i.e., loans from banks or other credit agencies,
is not generally accessible to farmers in Assam. As a result, borrowing from
unscrupulous lenders, who are not regulated by the state, at an extremely high interest
rate is common in the state. Tragically, In many instances some borrowers lose their
livelihood, i.e., their cultivable land, to these unscrupulous lenders. Although the
amount of commercial loan for agricultural purposes was over Rs. 77 billion in 1990-
91, most of these loans went to tea gardens. In 1989-90, commercial banks spent only
40 percent of their agricultural-loan budget. Their main reasons for refusing
agricultural loans was a lack of necessary collateral, mostly in the form of land. A lack
of proper land inheritance documentation and a lack of adequate amount of land (due to
land fragmentation) were two of the main reason for lack of collateral among many
farmers in Assam. To fill the void left by commercial banks, the Integrated Rural
Development Program (IRDP was designed to assist rural farming families with loans
to expand and improve their agricultural production as well as to explore alternative
avenues to increase income) used over Rs. 626 million in loans in 1990-91. However,
the need for agricultural loan remains largely unfulfilled in Assam.
(3)Marketing problems: Agricultural markets in Assam are under-developed. Farmers sell
to the nearest dealer/buyers, mostly immediately after harvesting when the price is at
the lowest, instead of trying to find the best market for their products. Geographical
isolation, weak transportation and communication systems, poor marketing facilities,
poor or non-existent market intelligence (e.g., information on price and place to sell)
are some of the principal marketing-related problems. While most of the brokers/buyers
have access to modern communication facilities such as telephone and regular and
timely market reports, farmers in Assam are many years away from having such
facilities to gauge the market and sell accordingly. In terms of the role of government, earlier studies have shown that government efforts are more focused on collecting
revenue (in the form of tax in the daily or weekly markets or through check-gates) than
facilitating the marketing of agricultural.
(4)) Non-economic Factors: Lack of education, ignorance about the changing economic
conditions, out-dated thinking, prejudiced cultural values, disturbed law and order
situation, and lack of scrupulous legislative and administrative machinery are some of
the principal non-economic factors that hinder agricultural development in Assam.
While the first four factors are mostly socio-cultural, which may take time to change
for the better, the latter two factors are mostly political. All these factors adversely
affect agricultural as well as economic development of the state. Political and
administrative instabilities not only create an unstable economic environment which
scare away entrepreneurial skills, capital necessary for growth, and induce brain-drain,
they also adversely affect socio-economic infrastructure, such as education, intellectual
thinking, social and family structure. Obviously, the on-going political unrest in Assam
since the last 1970s is not helping the agricultural sector or the economy of Assam.
(5)Research and development (R&D): The Assam government started allocating funds
specifically for research and development only since the sixth five-year plan (1980-85),
with an amount equal to 0.06 percent of the total outlay of Rs. 11.2 billion. It is
encouraging to note that such outlays were increased to 0.2 percent in the seventh plan,
and to 0.5 percent in the eighth plan. However, it is not known how much of this R&D
outlay is spent to improve agricultural productivity in the state, or how much of the
total R&D output has reached farmers. An assessment of the impact of past and current
R&D in the state would provide answers to such questions.

Concluding Remarks

To sum up, Assam is a state which is totally dependent on Agriculture and no one can deny this
fact. Various economic as well as socio-political factors are responsible for the continued lack of
growth and development of this sector. In addition, ineffective or inefficient government
programs also contribute to this sector's lack of growth. In the middle of continued problems,
there is hope for the future. There is potential for agri-food industries that use primary
agricultural products as their raw materials, e.g., fruits and vegetable processing industry,
sugarcane refining, tea industry, and jute industry. Such growth in the secondary and related
tertiary sectors (e.g., packaging, shipping, transportation, etc.) will not only benefit the primary
agriculture tremendously, but also reduce growing unemployment and provide the much needed
revenue to the state government. In a market economy, private entrepreneurs generally would
take the initiative to establish such secondary (and tertiary) industries, supported by commercial
credit sources. However, a lack of entrepreneurial and managerial talent, a lack of sufficient
capital, poor economic infrastructures, government bureaucracy, and continued politicaladministrative
unrest would discourage any would-be investor. It can be argued that the state
should step in to fill the gap which is left unfulfilled by the private sector. However, given the
poor performance of state-owned enterprises, the strategy of government involvement in
business must be changed. For instance, instead of ownership and management of businesses
using state-run corporations, joint ventures with private, including foreign, investors may be
economically beneficial.

References:

1) Directorate of Economics and Statistics
2) Bagchi, S. AAxomorsahsilpa.@ in Phukan (1997), pp. 64-85.
3) Bhuyan, S. AState intervention in agricultural marketing: Is it necessary?
@Agricultural Marketing, 33, 1 (April 1990):2-13.
4) Bhuyan, S., H. Demaine, and K. E. Weber. "Market regulation or regulated market?
The case of Assam, India," HSD Monograph no. 19, Asian Institute of Technology,
Bangkok, Thailand, 1990.
5) Bhuyan, S., S. D. Urs, and K. E. Weber. "Marketing farm produce: An efficiency test
of traditional and regulated markets based on evidence from Assam, India."
Economic Bulletin for Asia and the Pacific, 39, 2 (1988):46-55.
6) Dhar, P. K. Axomorarthanitirruprekha(The Economy of Assam). Kalyani Publishers:
Ludhiana, 1994.
7) Knutson, R. D., J.B. Penn, and Barry L. Flinchbaugh. Agricultural and Food Policy.
4th ed., Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1998.
8) Phukan, A. K. (ed.). Axomorarthaniti, 1997 (The Economy of Assam, 1997).
Buniyad: Guwahati, 1997.

A Close Look On The Condition of Agricultural Labours in Barpeta District

A Close Look On The Condition of Agricultural Labors in Barpeta District

Mr. Dipankar Choudhury
Lecturer, Department of Mathematics.
Bhawanipur Anchalik College, Bhawanipur

Introduction:

Agriculture and its allied sectors is unquestionably the largest livelihood provider in India, more so in the vast rural areas. It contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of our country. Sustainable agriculture, in terms of food security, rural employment, and environmentally sustainable technologies such as soil conservation, sustainable natural resource management and biodiversity protection is essential for holistic rural development.
The rapid growth and diversification of development activities resulted in much needed expansion of employment opportunities; but, at the same time have triggered rural to urban migration. This trend has inadvertently resulted in shifting of farm labor to non-farm sectors. To sustain food security, it is imperative to encourage farmers to continue with agriculture, where the rural youth have a crucial role to play.
India has the largest youth population in the world and is poised to increase further in the coming decade. Nearly 70% of India’s population is below the age of 35 years, making India the
Youngest nation in the world and interestingly 70% of them live in rural areas. According to 2011 Census, the youth population in the country including adolescent youth is around 550 million. In 2020, the average Indian age will be only 29-year-old, whereas in China and the United States of America the average age is estimated to be 37 years. We may utilize this demographic dividend for taking Indian agriculture to a new height by channelizing the creative energies of the youth through development of skills, knowledge and attitudes.
The economy of Assam is predominantly agricultural based, as about 85% of the populations live on agricultural activities for their livelihood and 15 % is dependent on allied services. The total geographical area of the State is 78.483 lakh hectare. Gross cropped area of the State is 41,59,977 hectare out of which net area shown is 28,10,597 hectare which is 35.81% of the geographical area of Assam.
       Today, agriculture and allied sectors are facing several challenges like aging farmer population, climate change resulting in high incidence of pest and diseases and most importantly the escalating cost of production. India is losing more than 2,000 farmers every single day and that since 1991, the overall number of farmers has dropped by 15 million (Sainath, 2013). This has several implications for the future of Indian agriculture and India’s food security. Young farmers can play an important role in ensuring food security if they are encouraged to involve in farming and the challenges they face are addressed. Over the past few years, rural youth have been shying away from agriculture and globally there is an increasing interest in finding ways of engaging youth in agriculture (IFAD, 2012; Paisley, 2013). In proffer to address this trend, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has always been endeavoring to empower youth with appropriate technologies.
This study is conducted to know the social status of the agricultural workers of the Barpeta district, to study the condition of their works and to know the magnitude of agricultural labours of Barpeta district.

POSITION OF AGRICULTURAL WORKER:

Agricultural workers are provided mostly by economically and socially backward section; poor section for the tribes also swells their ranks. It may be divided into four categories-
(a) Landless workers who are personally independent but who work exclusively for others.
(b) Petty farmers with tiny bits of land who devote most of their time working for others.
(c) Farmers who have economic holding but who have one or more of their sons and dependents workings for others prosperous farmers.
(d) Land less workers who are attached to the landlords.
The category (d) have to work for their principals or masters but their earn can’t shift to them timely. The other groups mentioned above (a, b and c) are also important but the problems of land less workers is the most serious problems in the rural areas. The percentage of land less workers as a proportion of rural worker force has increased from 16 percent in 1991 to 29 percent in 2001. Official data further shows that about 61 percent of the rural households either have no land or hold uneconomic holding of less than 1 hectare. These 61 percent of households in Barpeta of Assam. Total farming family of the District is 1,81,805 and total agricultural area is 3,30,000 hectare. 60 percent agricultural workers have less than 1 hectare holdings. The increase in the number of agricultural worker has resulted from increase in the size of population decline of cottage and village industries eviction of small farmers, uneconomic holding growing indebtedness and growth of capitalist farming.

CAUSES OF THE POOR ECONOMIC CONDITION OF FARM LABOUR :

[1] Unorganized – Agricultural laborers in Barpeta of Assam are totally unrecognized as they are ignorant illiterate and widely scattered. Thus the farm workers have no capacity to bargain for securing a fair wage level.
[2] Low social status – Farm workers mostly belong to depressed classes and thus they are lacking the courage to assert their basic rights.
3
[3] Seasonal unemployment – As the agricultural operations are seasonal thus the farm worker are often facing the problem of seasonal unemployment and under-employment. Farm workers on average get about 200 days in a year.
[4] Absence of alternative occupation:- In the rural areas the farm workers are not getting alternative job when they suffer seasonal unemployment.
[5] Growing indebtedness – Agricultural laborers in Barpeta of Assam are highly indebted. As the lend of wages are very poor thus the farm workers have been borrowing from land lords and become bonded laborers ultimately it can be said that the agricultural laborers in Barpeta of Assam are living in inhuman conditions and in the absence of organized status. They are deprived of all the basic amenities of their life.
[6] Natural Factors:- In Barpeta district of Assam chronically affected by flood and river erosion. Nearly 31,000 hectares agricultural land affected by flood and erosion every years and huge loss of the farmer.
[7] Misuse of government fund: For the sake of agriculture development State and central government release various fund, subsidy, equipment, water cannel to paddy field from river etc. But to gain those facilities the poor and uneducated farmers need to cross the long bureaucratic bridge. Due to which the facilities remain undelivered.

GOVERNMENT POLICY OR MEASURES ADAPTED TO IMPROVE THE CONDITIONS OF FARM WORKERS:

[1] Abolition of bonded labour: - The Indian constitution declared the practice of serf demand offence. It has also abolished agrarian slavery including forced labour by law but it will take sometime before it is removed in practice.
[2] The minimum wage act passed in 1948 by state government were advised to fix minimum wages for labour within three years. The minimum wages are fixed keeping in view the total costs and standard of living. But due to some practical difficulties most of the state could not fix the minimum wages till 1974.
[3] Other legislative measures: After passing legislation for fixing ceiling on land were acquired surplus lands and distributed it among the land less labourers. About 74 lakh areas of land were acquired as surplus lands and distributed it among land less labour.
[4] In India various state have passed necessary legislation for providing housing sites to agricultural labourers. Again under minimum needs programme and 20 point programme high priority is being attached to rural housing site cum-house construction scheme.
[5] Special Agencies: - During the fourth plan two special agencies-small farmers development Agency (SFDA) and Marginal Farmers and Agriculture labourers development Agency (MFAL) were developed for conducting various works like irrigation land conservation dairy development piggory

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING THE CONDITIONS OF AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS :

[1] Implementation of minimum wage act: - To implement the minimum wage act seriously and to revise the minimum wages periodically considering the changing price level of the country.
[2] Bargaining Power: - To improve their bargaining power the agricultural workers should be organised through the formation of farm unions of labourers under the protection and support of the government.
[3] Abolition of Bonded Labour: - To abolish serfdom among the landless agricultural labourers totally.
[4] Distribution of Surplus Land: - To rehabilitate the agricultural labourers on the acquired land declared surplus under ceiling laws and also on the new reclaimed land.
[5] Alternative Sources of employment: to create alternative sources of employment by developing small scale and cottage industries in rural areas.
[6] Social Security Measures: To introduce social security measures for the agricultural labours and also to introduce compulsory insurance on marginal contribution and also to institute old age pension scheme for the agricultural workers by the government.
[7] Fixing working hours: to improve the working conditions of agricultural labour by enforcing fixed hours of work banning child labour etc.
[8] Modern Method :- To improve the working conditions of agriculture by adopting improve intensive methods and multiple cropping for raising the productivity of agricultural labourers and promote co-operative farming in rural areas.
[9] Flood and River Erosion Control: - Adequate measures must be taken to overcome the problems of agriculture in Assam created by natural factors. Extensive flood control measures should be adopted to prevent huge loss and devastation created by ever recurring flood in Assam. In Assam river Erosion must be control to save the agricultural land and labourers.
[10] Economic Measures:- To make agriculture move remunerative active economic measures must be introduced. Subsidiary agro-based industries must set up in rural areas. So that surplus labour in agriculture sector can be utilised in these industries. Proper steps must be taken to break the vicious circle of poverty.
[11] Human Development: - For the improvement of agricultural productivity in the state the quality of farmer must be improved through education, both general and technical.

Conclusion:

What would be the face of Indian agriculture say 20-30 years hence? This paper is a deliberate attempt to add a new dimension to the present discourse which presupposes the persistence of overpopulated workforce in agriculture. We propose that the livelihood decisions of the rural youth would be the key to future of Indian agriculture and there is a need to understand the various processes affecting it fully. With around 50 per cent of the world’s population being youth and more in the developing countries, the future of the world depends much on what they choose to say – or do for that matter. The world is practically theirs to decide how they want to live and let others live. Agriculture has been feeding the world population but its ways are not doing that anymore as we can see from the increasing number of hungry people. As it is the best way of providing food if done properly and with no other options, the youth has to come up with how to make the most of it. Agricultural workers constitute the most neglected class in Indian rural structure. Their income is low and employment irregular. Since, they possess no skill or training, they have no alternative employment opportunities either. Socially, a large number of agricultural workers belong to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Therefore, they are a suppressed class. They are not organised and they cannot fight for their rights. Because of all these reasons their economic lot has failed to improve even after four decades of planning. This can also be seen from the Prime Minister's speech made in Lok Sabha on August 4, 1966. The Prime minister emphasized -"We must give special consideration to the landless agricultural labour. Although there has been tremendous progress in India since Independence, this is one section, which has really a very hard time and which is deserving very special consideration." So as an agriculture dominated country government should take proper steps for various aspect for agricultural labours, like wage reforms, new methods for agriculture, hours of works, improve the living conditions and overcoming the natural factors like flood and erosion etc.

REFERENCE
[1.] K.p.m sundharam- indian economics thirty seventh edition 1997 new delhi
[2.] Dhar p.k- assam economy, kalyani publishers,eiahth edition 2007
[3.] Dr b.p taygi agricultural and rural develoment economics.
[4.] Guptas r. Popular master guide romesh publishing house 2009.

[5.] Newspapers – Pratidin. Khabar etc.

THE SIXTH SCHEDULE OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO BODOLAND TERRITORIAL COUNCIL(BTC) OF ASSAM

THE SIXTH SCHEDULE OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO

Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) OF ASSAM

Dipankar Choudhury.
Lecturer; Department of Mathematics
Bhawanipur Anchalik College, Bhawanipur





Abstract: The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It is a living document, the permanent instrument which makes the government system work. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles and the duties of citizens. It is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world. The nation is governed on the basis of this Constitution. The most prominent and important structural change in the administration is the grant of political autonomy and statehood in North East India. This process goes back to the British Era when the Interim Government of India had appointed a sub-committee to the Constituent Assembly, viz. North- East Frontier (Assam) Tribal and Excluded Areas Committee under the Chairmanship of first Assam Chief Minister, Gopinath Bardoloi. The committee recommended setting up of autonomous district councils to provide due representative structures at the local level to the tribal population. The recommendation was later incorporated into Sixth Schedule (article 244 (2) & Article 275(1)) of the Indian Constitution. As per the Sixth Schedule, the four states viz. Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram contain the Tribal Areas which are technically different from the Scheduled Areas. Though these areas fall within the executive authority of the state, provision has been made for the creation of the District Councils and regional councils for the exercise of the certain legislative and judicial powers.

Introduction: The North-Eastern region inhabits 12 percent of the country’s 8.4 crore tribal population and has borders with Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh. It has seen much unrest and violence over the past few decades. These include insurgencies in Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram and growth of militant groups in Meghalaya. In addition there are conflicts and confrontations over land use and control as well as issues of language, identity, demographic change and minoritymajority relations. The problems are further compounded by mis-governance, corruption, economic backwardness and geographical isolation from rest of India.The Sixth Schedule provides for administration of certain tribal areas as autonomous entities. The administration of an autonomous district is to be vested in a District Council and of an autonomous region, in a Regional Council. These Councils are endowed with legislative, judicial, executive and financial powers. Most Council consists of up to 30 members including few nominated members. The newest Bodoland Territorial Council is an exception; it can have up to 46 members. Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) covers a geographical area of 8790 sq. km, spread over4 districts. The BTC was set up as a self-governingbody for Bodo Areas in 2003 after an agreement with the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT). The aim of the BTC is to –
(a) Fulfill the economic, educational & linguistic aspirations &preservation of land rights, socio-cultural &ethnic identity of Bodos.
(b) Speed-up Infrastructure development in BTC area.
The Bodoland Territorial Council shall consist of not more than 46 members of whom 40 shall be elected on the basis of adult suffrage, of whom 30 shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, 5 for non-tribal communities, 5 open for all communities and the remaining 6 shall be nominated (including at least two women) by the Governor having same rights and privileges as other members. The Executive Council (EC) consists of 12 Executive Members including the Chief Executive Member (CEM) and the Deputy Chief Executive Member. Non-tribes are also given representation on the EC.The entire area covered under the BTC has been recognized with Kokrajhar as an original district and forming other new districts thus totaling four districts in the BTC Area. The area under those four districts has been estimated as follows:


Sl. No  /  Name of District   / Area in Sq. KM   / Population (census2011)
1    Kokrajhar  3,169.20    887,142
2    Chirang       1,069.96   482,162

3    Baksa           3,056.89    950,075
4    Udalguri      1,673.93    831,668
          Total         8,969.98   3,151,047

Constitutional Safeguards for the Tribal Population: With the dawn of independence and adoption of the Constitution of free India, the British policy of isolation and non‐interference was replaced by the policies of integration and development. The Constitution of India provided several types of safeguards to the tribal communities. There are the Protective Provisions to protect them from all forms of social injustice and exploitation, the Developmental Provisions promote education and developmental activities, the Reservation Provisions ensure their representation in legislative bodies and government jobs, and the Administrative Provisions under the Fifth and Sixth Schedules provide for special administrative setup to provide autonomy of self-governance according to their customary traditions.The tribal people live in contiguous areas unlike other communities. So, an area approach was adopted for administrative and developmental purposes. Under the Constitution “Scheduled Areas” are declared by the President after consultation with the State Governors. These Areas have been designated to protect the interests of Scheduled Tribes regarding their land and other social issues and are governed through provisions of either Fifth or Sixth Schedule. The Scheduled Areas of the North East are covered under the Sixth Schedule provisions; all other Scheduled Areas are covered by the Fifth Schedule laws.



Objectives of the paper:

The main objectives of the study are as follows:-

1. To study the provisions of decentralization for the BTC of Assam provided under the 6th Schedule of the Indian constitution.

2. To study the background and necessity of the 6th Schedule of the Indian constitution.

3. To assess actual performance of the BTC in terms of development.



Methodology: While preparing this paper, both the primary and secondary data were used. The primary sources of data included the official records and data collected from the Bodoland territorial Council (BTC). The Secondary data collected from internet and various books, journal related with the topic of the study.



Decentralization vis-à-vis Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC):

 On February 10, 2003, the Assam government, the Union government and the Bodo Liberation Tigers signed the Memorandum of Settlement on Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), in New Delhi. The jurisdiction of the BTC shall extend over 3082 villages and the BTC has been given legislative powers over 40 subjects. The accord provides for an Executive Council comprising of a maximum of 12 Executive Members, including a Chief and a Deputy Chief, with adequate representation to the non-tribal population.The Government of India and the Government of Assam have been making concerted efforts to fulfill the aspirations of the Bodo people relating to their cultural identity, language, education and economic development. Towards this end, a series of talks were held between Government of India, Government of Assam and Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) since March, 2000. As a result, it is agreed to create a self-governing body for the Bodo Areas in the State of Assam.The objectives of the agreement are: to create an Autonomous self-governing body to be known as Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) within the State of Assam and to provide constitutional protection under Sixth Schedule to the said Autonomous Body; to fulfill economic, educational and linguistic aspirations and the preservation of land-rights, socio-cultural and ethnic identity of the Bodos; and speed up the infrastructure development in BTC area.



Status of Bodoland Territorial Council:

 The provision of the Sixth schedule and other relevant Articles of the Constitution of India will apply to BTC, mutatis mutandis in terms of this agreement. The safeguards/modifications for the non-tribal in BTC area, inter-alia, will include the following:



1. Provision of para1 (2) of Sixth Schedule regarding Autonomous Regions will not be applicable to BTC.



2. A provision will be made in Para 2(1) of the Sixth Schedule for increasing the number of members for BTC up to 46 out of which 30 will be reserved for Scheduled Tribes, 5 for non-tribal communities, 5 open for all communities and 6 to be nominated by Governor of Assam from the unrepresented communities for BTC area of which at least two should be women. Nominated members will have the same rights and privileges as other members, including voting rights. Election from the 40 constituencies of BTC shall be on the basis of adult franchise. The term of the elected members of BTC shall be for 5 years.



3. Safeguards for the settlement rights, transfer and inheritance of property etc. of non-tribal will be suitably incorporated in Para 3 of the Sixth Schedule. Any such law as may be made by the BTC in this regard will not, in particular:



(a) Extinguish the rights and privileges enjoyed by an citizen of India in respect of their land at the commencement of BTC, and



(b) Bar any citizen from acquiring land either by way of inheritance, allotment, settlement or by way of transfer if such citizens were eligible for such bonfire acquisition of land within the BTC area.



4. Provision will be added in Para 6 of Sixth Schedule that in BTC area, language and medium of instruction in educational institutions will not be changed without approval of the State Government.



5. Provision of Para 8 of Sixth Schedule regarding power to assess and collect land revenue and impose taxes shall be applicable to BTC.



6. Para 10 of the Sixth Schedule will not be applicable to BTC area.



7. Provision of Article 332(6) of the Constitution will be so modified that the existing status of representation of BTC area in the State Assembly is kept intact. After the creation of BTC, the Parliamentary & Assembly Constituencies shall be delimited by the Delimitation Commission in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.



8. In the event, Panchayati Raj system ceases to be in force in the council area, the powers of the Panchayati Raj Institutions in such matters shall be vested with the Council.



The Amendments to the Sixth Schedule shall include provisions in such a manner that non-tribal are not disadvantaged in relation to the rights enjoyed by them at the commencement of BTC and their rights and privileges including land rights are fully protected.



Powers of the District Council:



a) The Council shall have legislative powers in respect to subjects transferred to it as enumerated below. All laws made under this paragraph shall be submitted forthwith to the Governor and until assented to by him, shall have no effect. The BTC shall have executive, administrative and financial powers in respect of subjects transferred to it.



Subjects to be entrusted to BTC by Assam Government:



1) Small, Cottage and Rural Industry; 2. Animal Husbandry & Veterinary; 3. Forest; 4. Agriculture; 5. PWD;

6. Sericulture; 7. Education (Primary Education, Higher Secondary Including vocational training, Adult Education, College Education (General); 8. Cultural Affairs; 9. Soil Conservation; 10. Co-operation;

11. Fisheries; 12. Panchayati and Rural Development; 13. Handloom and Textile; 14. Health & Family Welfare; 15. Public Health Engineering; 16. Irrigation; 17. Social Welfare; 18. Flood Control; 19. Sports & Youth Welfare; 20. Weights and Measures; 21. Library Services; 22. Museum & Archaeology; 23. Urban Development – Town and Country Planning; 24. Tribal Research Institute; 25. Land & Revenue; 26. Publicity/Public Relations;

27. Printing & Stationery; 28. Tourism; 29. Transport; 30. Planning and Development; 31. Municipal Corporation, Improvement Trust, District Boards and other local authorities; 32. Welfare of Plan Tribes and Backward Classes; 33. Markets and fairs; 34. Lotteries, Theatres, Dramatic performance and cinema;

35. Statistics; 36. Food and Civil supply; 37. Intoxicating liquors, opium and derivatives etc.; 38. Labor and employment; 39. Relief and Rehabilitation; 40. Registration of Births and Deaths.



b) There shall be an Executive Council comprising of not more than 12 Executive Members, one of whom shall be the Chief and another one the Deputy Chief of the said Executive Council. There shall be adequate representation for the non-tribal members in the Executive Council. The Chief and the Deputy Chief of the Council shall have the status equivalent to the Cabinet Minister and the other Executive Members equivalent to the Minister of the State of Assam for protocol purposes in BTC area.



c) The BTC shall have the full control over the officers and staff connected with the delegated subjects working in the BTC area and shall be competent to transfer officers and staff within the BTC area. ACRs of these officers shall also be written by the appropriated BTC authority.



d) BTC shall also be competent to make appointments for all posts under its control in accordance with the rules of appointment followed by the Government of Assam. However, the posts, where recruitment is made on the recommendation of APSC, shall not be covered under this provision. The Council may constitute a Selection Board for appointments to be made by it and may also make rules, with the approval of the Governor of Assam to regulate appointments and to ensure adequate representation for all communities living in the Council area.



e) No posts shall be created by BTC without concurrence of the Government of Assam and it shall also abide by the decision of the Government of Assam in respect of abolition of/temporarily keeping vacant any post.



f) Development functions and bodies within the competence of BTC shall be transferred to BTC. In respect of DRDA, concurrence of Government of India will be obtained.



g) The offices of the Dy. Commissioner and Superintendent of Police will be outside the superintendence and control of BTC.



h) The State Government would provide an amount, to be decided every year on population ratio basis, as grants-in-aid in two equal installments to the BTC for executing development works. The proportionate share for the BTC shall be calculated on the basis of the plan funds available after setting aside the funds required for earmarked sectors and the salary. This amount may be reduced proportionately if the state plan allocation is reduced or there is plan cut due to resource problem. In addition, the Council will be paid a suitable amount of plan funds and non-plan funds to cover the office expenses and the salaries of the staff working under their control. The BTC shall disburse the salaries of the staff under their control and would ensure strict economy in the matter.



i) BTC authority shall prepare a plan with the amounts likely to be available for development works, both under State share and Central share, covering any or all the activities of the departments under their control. The Council shall have full discretion in selecting the activities and choosing the amount for the investment under the same in any year covering all groups of people in a fair and equitable manner. This plan will be a sub set of the State plan and would be treated as its integral part. Once the plan of the State, including BTC plan, gets the approval of the Planning Commission the BTC authority will start execution of their plan in the BTC area. Modifications, if any, made by the Planning Commission in the BTC proposal, shall be binding on the BTC authority. The State Government shall not divert the funds allocated to the BTC to other heads and also ensure its timely release. BTC may have Planning Department to prepare the plans for BTC area to be submitted to Planning Commission through the Government of Assam.



j) The executive functions of the BTC shall be exercised through its Principal Secretary who shall be an officer of the rank not below of Commissioner/Secretary to Government of Assam. The sanctioning powers of the Government of Assam shall be vested with the Principal Secretary of BTC and sanctioning powers of head(s) of the Department(s) including for technical sanction shall be conferred on the senor most officer of that Department preferably not below the rank of Additional Director, who may be designated as Director of BTC for that department. The Principal Secretary and other officers shall exercise their powers under the overall guidance and supervision of BTC.



Development of Bodo Language:

1. The Government of India agrees to consider favorably the inclusion of Bodo Language in Devnagri Script in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

2. Bodo language shall be the official language of BTC subject to the condition that Assamese and English shall also continue to be used for official purpose.





Additional Development Package for BTC:

a) The State Government, within the limitation of financial and other constraints, may offer or allow the Council to offer, possible and sustainable additional incentives for attracting private investment in the Council area and would also support projects for external funding.

b) In order to accelerate the development of the region and to meet the aspirations of the people, the Government of India will provide financial assistance of Rs 100 crores per annum for 5 years for projects to develop the socio-economic infrastructure in BTC areas over and above the normal plan assistance to the State of Assam. The size of the Corpus will be reviewed after a period of 5 years. Suitable mechanism will be built in the system to ensure that the funds are transferred to BTC in time and at regular intervals. An illustrative list of projects which may be considered to be taken up in BTC given below:-

1. To establish a center for development and research of Bodo language; 2. Upgradation of existing educational infrastructure by way of renovation/addition of buildings, providing modern facilities for teaching such as computers, science laboratories etc. from primary level to college level in BTC area; 3. A cultural complex to be established at Kokrajhar to promote and develop Bodo tradition and cultural heritage; 4. To establish a super-specialty hospital with all modern facilities at Kokrajhar Government Hospitals shall be established in all district, sub-divisional and block headquarter; 5. To establish sports complexes in all the district headquarters; 6. Food processing plants and cold storage facilities at Kokrajhar, Kajolgaon, Udalguri and Tamulpur; 7. Construction of a bridge over river Aai to connect Koilamoila, Amguri etc. with the rest of the district; 8. To build a Bodoland Bhawan in Delhi; 9. To set up integrated agro-processing park and textile-cum-apparel park; 10. Revitalization of Kokilabari Agricultural Farm; 11. To develop adequate infrastructure to promote Manas sanctuary as an international tourist spot; 12. To complete Champa, Suklai and Dhansiri irrigation projects; 13. To construct a highway on the Indo-Bhutan border from Jamduar to Bhairabkunda to connect remote places located adjacent to the border; 14. To set up model dairy, fishery, horticulture and poultry farms/training centers at different places in all the 4 districts to encourage youth for self-employment; 15. To enhance the existing facilities in veterinary hospitals in BTC area.

c) Government of India will provide necessary one time financial assistance required for development of administrative infrastructure in the newly created district headquarters, sub-divisional headquarters and book headquarters, besides the BTC Secretariat Complex at Kokrajhar.





Socio-Economic Development in BTC: The main purpose of decentralization of powers under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution was to ensure rapid socio-economic development of the tribal areas of the North Eastern region having any entirely rural background. It has been more than thirteen years that BTC has been entrusted with the territorial Council.The time is not more sufficient to evaluate the achievement or failure of the experiment of decentralization in terms of the development of the region. No doubt some concerted efforts were made by the local government to expedite the process of development in the district, the success of these efforts are often doubted, debated, propagated and many a time repudiated. Despite frequent allegations of wastage, mismanagement, corruption, nepotism and favoritism in the Council the achievement of the BTC in some of the fields of development cannot be overlooked. It is a matter of common knowledge that the roads in Bodoland are far better than the roads of the other districts of Assam. The NH-31 passing through the district is glaring examples of the better roads condition of the district, though the some roads are still in dilapidated condition. Apart from roads, Health and Educations are two of the important indicator to assess the development of any region.

The medical and health department in BTC are not so bad. In BTC there are many civil hospital, Community hospital, primary health center, state Dispensary, Subsidiary Health center, Leprosy control unit and Medical Sub center. Though all civil, community and primary hospital are working well, the other type of hospital are not in so good condition because of insufficient Doctor, nurse and other medical related staff.

The Department of Education in the four districts of BTC is under the control of BTC Authority. BTC is entrusted to work in the overall developmental activities for the School Education, General College Education, Vocational Education except Technical Education and University Education. The control of Education Department lies on the Executive Member of BTC who is given the charge of Education through the Director of Education .As far as literacy filed is concerned, as per the census record of 2011, the literary rate of the districts of BTC is as follows –

1) Kokrajhar = 65.22%                     2) Chirang = 63.55 %              3) Udalguri = 65.41 %                4) Baksa= 69.25% A large number of educational institution have been established even in the remotest corners of the district.  Some remarkable educational institutes in BTC areBodoland University (BU) Kokrajhar, Central Institute of Technology (CIT) Kokrajhar, Bineswar Brahma Engineering College Kokrajhar, teacher training educational institute, ITI and various science, arts and Commerce College were established before and after the BTC agreement were signed. In the sphere of economic life of BTC area, agriculture still holds a dominant position, but in the recent times occupation like service, trade and commerce, etc. are adopted in a small scale but increasing in nature with the present growing needs of such sectors for the overall growth of the economy. Agriculture has been dominant occupation of any rural society. It is also the main occupation of the economic life of the BTC area. The Bodos who constitute the major population generally cultivates for mustard seeds, tobacco, jute, vegetables like potato, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, gourd, green leaves, spices, chilly, onion, ginger, etc. for their daily use and economic gain purpose. Castor plants are cultivated for producing End cocoon, which is a part of home industries in spinning and weaving especially for women folk. For cultivation of paddy, there are three kinds of cultivation of the land in the society. They are Self-cultivation, Adhi system, Sukhani system.

(i) Self system- The owner cultivates his land with the help of his family or male labour (Dahwna) and female labour (Ruwati) for a season by giving them certain amount of paddy or wages.

(ii) Adhi system-In this system the land owner gives away his land to a cultivator for cultivation for a temporary phase and the total product of the land is distributed equally between his owner and the cultivator.

(iii) Sukhani system- here the land owner fixes a contract with the cultivator, and the cultivator has to give a fixed quantity of product for each bigha of land he cultivated (Goswami, 2014).





Conclusion:The above description is a brief profile of the newly created Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) under the state of Assam. As a territorial council, BTC has four administrative districts, where the provision of Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and the other relevant has been applied. The council enjoys all the legislative powers in respect of subjects transferred to it. The area is also under the control of an Inspector General of Police (IGP) for four districts to maintain law and order situation in the area. Regarding library services, the three types of libraries are in existence under the council-Public, Academic and Special libraries. The area has its distinct demographic feature. In the sphere of economic life, BTC is still dominated by the agriculture. Manas National Park, Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary, Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary are the pride of the tourist destination in the BTC area. The area still needs to go a long way for its all-round development in many points.




Reference:

1.      Constituent Assembly Debates, Vol. VII, IX, XI, Lok Sabha Secretariate, Parliament House, New Delhi, 1949

2.      Gassah. L.S. (ed); 1997,The Autonomous District Councils, Omsons Publications New Delhi.

3.       Statistical Hand book of Assam 2007; 2007,Directorate of Economics & Statistics Govt. of Assam, Guwahati.

4.      Verghese, B.G;2004, India’s Northeast Resurgent; Kurnak Publishing Pvt.Ltd, New Delhi.

5.      Census 2011

6.      TheMemorandum of Settlement (2003) signed by three parties – Government ofIndia, Government of Assam and Bodo Liberation Tigers explores various aspectson the formation of BTC within the state of Assam.

7.      Wikipedia, BTC government website and websites related to this topic. 

A Critical Review Of Manas National Park and Its Future Prospect.

 A Critical review on Manas national  park and its future prospect.

                                                                     

Dipankar Choudhury 

Department of Mathematics 

Bhawanipur Anchalik College.

 

Introduction:
Manas National Park is located in the State of Assam in North-East India, a biodiversity hotspot. The name ‘Manas’ is derived from the Hindu deity, the snake goddess ‘Manasa’ and is also shared with the Manas river that transverses through the park. Covering an area of 39,100 hectares, it spans the Manas River and is bounded to the north by the forests of Bhutan. The Manas National Park is part of the core zone of the 283,700 hectares Manas Tiger Reserve, and lies alongside the shifting river channels of the Manas River.
In December 1985, the UNESCO declared it as a World Heritage Site and in 1992, it was declared as a World Heritage site in danger by the UNESCO, due to the rampant poaching and terrorist activities that took place in the nineties.
The park has two biomes; grassland and forest. About the half of the Park is covered by Grasslands of Terai and Bhabar type, the riparian areas have colonizing grasslands and woodlands of several species. The sanctuary has recorded 55 species of mammals, 380 species of birds, 50 of reptiles, and 3 species of amphibians. Out of these wildlife, 21 mammals are India’s Schedule I mammals and 31 of them are threatened.

The fauna of the park include Asian Elephants, Indian Rhinoceros, Gaurs, Asian Water Buffaloes, Barasingha, Tigers, Leopards, Clouded Leopards, Asian golden cat, Capped Langurs, Golden Langurs, Assamese Macaques, Slow Loris, Hoolock Gibbons, Smooth-coated Otters, Sloth Bears, Barking Deer, Hog Deer, Black Panther, Sambar Deer and Chital.The park is well known for its rare and endangered wildlife which is not found anywhere else in the world like the Assam Roofed Turtle, Hispid Hare, Golden Langur and Pygmy Hog.

The park is divided into three ranges. The western range is based at Panbari, the central at Bansbari near Barpeta Road, and the eastern at Bhuiyapara near Pathsala. The ranges are not well connected; while two major rivers need to be forded in going from the centre to the Panbari, there is a rough trail (The Daimari road) connecting the central to the eastern range.
   
Manas is recognized not only for its rich biodiversity but also for its spectacular scenery and natural landscape which includes a range of forested hills, alluvial grasslands and tropical evergreen forests. Its home to India’s second-largest tiger population. Manas harbours the maximum number of endangered species from India as listed in the IUCN Red Book.

Importance for the Study:

The importance of study in the national park system has never been greater than it is today. The study of the situation of National Park must generate sound information to help resource managers’ deal with increasingly serious and complex threats, withstand increasingly detailed scrutiny, and enhance public understanding, and foster cooperation with outside scientists and other agencies. Because many issues that affect parks, such as like poaching, smuggling, presence of extremist elements and also existence of the park. We cannot be confined within park boundaries, proposed solutions can affect areas that surround the parks and require regional cooperation. Even when management decisions apply strictly within park boundaries, public review can be contentious. Moreover, because litigation and other challenges to federal land management decisions have become commonplace, the quality and validity of research is critical when park management decisions come before the courts and other arenas of public exposure and scrutiny.
Any examination of the national park system can uncover many cases in which a lack of scientific understanding of park resources led to problems—loss of resource integrity, increases in conflicts between visitors and resources, or escalation of minor issues into major problems. For instance, visitor facilities were developed in habitat critical to endangered species before the concept of endangered species was appreciated. A common thread in these examples is that almost invariably, the establishment and early management of the parks were done with inadequate scientific knowledge of these ecological systems.
Objective for the Study:
•    To determine what resources are present in order to protect them, manage them, and detect changes in them.
•    To understand the natural dynamics and processes of populations, ecosystems, and other park resources.
•    To assess the effects of specific threats and to devise and evaluate management responses.
 

Methodology:  
The data use in preparing the topic is the primary and secondary data. The primary data are collected from the people living nearby Bhuyapara and Bansbari rang and also forest security guard in the both Bhuyapara and Bansbari range.  The secondary data are collected from government documents, periodicals, books, Newspapers and internet. These data are collected and analyzed in systematic order .

Threat to Manas National Park:
   
    At a time when the Manas National Park, which is also a Project Tiger area, has been facing serious problems like poaching, smuggling and presence of extremist elements, a new problem has surfaced to threaten the very existence of the park. Encroachment on some vital parts of the park has made the situation so grave that even the World Heritage Committee has noted it with serious concern with a warning to inscribe the park as a World Heritage Site in Danger.
    The Bhuyapara Range is the worst affected as about 150 hectares of land are in the grip of encroachers. Most areas at Betbari, Natun Betbari and Agrang beats under the Bhuyapara Range have been occupied by them. The land has been gradually occupied by sections of residents of the fringe villages. Though they have not constructed any permanent structures on the occupied land, they have been cultivating crops after destroying the forest cover. With no obstruction from any quarters, the encroachers are fast approaching the park and more and more areas are being occupied every year.
The situation under the Panbari Range is also not different from that in Bhuyapara. Though the land under encroachment is less than Bhuyapara, some people have already built houses and are refusing to move away.
Neither the park authority nor the Government has undertaken any steps to evict the encroachers and free the land. As a result, the world famous park has lost a vast area and if the current situation prevails for a few more years, both the Bhuyapara and Panbari ranges will cease to exist on the map of the park.
The issue of encroachment has been taken very seriously by the World Heritage Committee, which has warned that if the Government fails to check encroachment, it may lead to such a situation that the park may be inscribed as a World Heritage Site in Danger.
The smuggling of timber has also added to the woes of the park. The felling of valuable and old trees is going on unabated in the Betbari, Tangonmara, Koirbari, Agrang Digjira and Panda areas under the Bhuyapara Range. Large areas in the eastern part of the range office have been denuded. There is no forest cover in these areas, compelling the wildlife to shift to other crowded habitats.
It is learnt that the World Heritage Committee has urged the Government to adopt measures to conserve the park and strengthen the security system. It has also instructed the Government to inform the committee about the measures adopted by February, 2015. If the Government fails to comply with this directive, the park may lose the status of a World Heritage Site for the second time after 1992.
The Manas National Park was declared a World Heritage Site in 1985. But due to the devastation during the Bodo agitation in the late 1990s, it lost the status and was enlisted as a World Heritage Site in Danger. Rigorous efforts by the BTAD and the park authority enabled it to retain the honor for the second time after 19 years in 2011.But the prevailing situation in the park is not at all satisfactory, which has attracted the ire of the World Heritage Committee under the UNESCO.
Also the illegal hunting is main threat to the Manas national park. Commercial and frequent hunting can quickly reach unsustainable levels, leading to local extinction of the targeted wildlife species. In Manas, species in danger not only include the larger mammals, such as elephants, rhinos and other primates, but also tiger, deer etc... Bush-meat hunting and trading has now become big business and is one of the main threats to many of the major species in Manas. Another species under threat from poaching is the rhinoceros. Rhinoceros horn is used in traditional Asian medicine, believed to reduce fevers and even prevent loss of life. Other parts of the rhino, including the skin and bones, are also used for their supposed medicinal qualities. Demand for rhino horn has increased substantially in recent years. However, recent investigations have shown that hunters are abusing regulations and entering rhino horn into commercial trade involving organized crime, corruption, abuse of diplomatic privileges and money laundering. Intelligence gathering, regular monitoring and strict enforcement are effective ways of curtailing both illegal logging and poaching activities in forests. The participation of local communities in these activities can facilitate implementation of laws and regulations and secure sustainability.

Steps to be taken by Forest authority:

1.    Management of Park areas and Buffer zone:
o    By preparation of management plan/operational plan and implementation.
o    By defining priority species, critical habitats and ecosystems for conservation of ecological integrity of the park.
o    Zonation and boundary demarcation of park area into different zones such as core zone, buffer zone and multiple use zones.
o    Control of human-wildlife conflicts by establishing the appropriate approaches/measures.
o    Allocating adequate fund and Infrastructural development in place along with the necessary equipment’s to accomplish their tasks.
o    Strengthen the staff strength and build up the capabilities of staffs through training, study tour, refresher courses, subject matter workshops and on-the-job training both in-country and ex-country.

2.    Control of Poaching:
o    Develop effectives and efficient patrolling and anti-poaching strategies, strengthening the staff strength, collaborating with the Bhutan counter parts.
o    Identification of poaching areas/illegal routes and species subject to poaching threats.
o    Establishment of guard posts, patrol trials, watch tower in the strategy points.
o    Awareness rising through EE programmes conducting public meetings/workshop and relaying through media.

3.    Integrated conservation and development programmes (ICDP):
o    Formulate guidelines for planning, implementing and monitoring process of ICDP’s in collaboration with relevant agencies.
o    Improve information through surveys and in consultation with relevant stakeholders on existing resource use pattern, problems and opportunities, and resource management system.
o    Ensure a multidisciplinary ICDP planning process to ensure conservation impacts.
o    Provide support and back stopping to geographical staff and community to integrate conservation issues and preparation of Community based natural resource management plan.

4.    Environment Education:
o    Develop and implement an environment education program in the park to enhance environmental awareness and develop sense of responsibilities towards environment conservation.
o    Institutionalize participatory approaches in the park management from inventory to planning and monitoring.
o    Enhanced capacity at decentralized levels to plan and implement conservation efforts by providing training for teachers and other staffs, local leaders and communities in the park, rendering support to school nature clubs.
o    Improve access to the parks for the public for educational and recreational purposes; establish visitors/interpretation/information centers in the park.

5.    Research, Survey and Monitoring:
o    Maintain data and information base on biological values, at species, habitats and ecosystem level through survey, research and monitoring.
o    Setting up of permanent monitoring plots to generate information for long term monitoring and planning purpose.
o    Improving the knowledge and technical skills of field staffs through training on relevant and emerging applicable survey and monitoring techniques.
o    Procuring and supplying adequate field guides, field equipment’s and field gears for survey and monitoring.
o    Establish a computerized data base of all collected data.
 

Conclusion:
             

                Forests and the products they provide are universally required for the continuation of human society as we know it. To change our society to one that does not depend on the forest (to the forest's detriment) and its associated benefits requires such an enormous paradigm shift that we generally do not even consider it worthy of further investigation. Given this situation therefore, it is imperative that we discover mechanisms to manage the forest for all the benefits it can provide, in a sustainable manner.
Few countries have all the answers to all the issues faced, thus there exists a real need for international cooperation. Loss of forest resources transcends national boundaries and affects the entire planet. Given this, the roles of various agencies become vitally important in order to minimize any potential downside and to maximize the upside. Governments, NGOs, intergovernmental panels and the like must work more closely in order to resolve the pressing issues facing the forests. In many cases a collaborative approach will provide a solution which is more acceptable to all parties, and more robust than a solution that is developed unilaterally.
Societies around the world are beginning to face up to the reality that as a species man requires forest resources - both the wood and non-wood products a sustainably managed forest can provide. As the guardians of those resources our performance has to date been abysmal. It is with a great deal of urgency that we must turn that record around and ensure that we have sustainably managed forests for the generations that are to follow. Only a long term global commitment to conservation and sustainable development can reverse the tide of uncontrolled deforestation. A sound policy framework is central to this commitment.
 

Reference:
1) Borthakur, M. (1986). Weather and Climate of North East India. (The North east Geographer)
2) Deb Roy, S. (1991). Manas - A monograph. Tiger paper.
3) Project Tiger (2001). Project Tiger Status Report. Ministry of Environment & Forests
4) Panwar, H. S., (1979). A note on tiger census technique based on pugmark tracings, Indian Forester.

5) Encroachment poses threat to Manas National Park by Haramohan Barman (Oct 18, 2011)

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