Experts urge Assam MLAs to vouch for 3-pronged counter-insurgency strategy

GUWAHATI: Experts on Tuesday have called upon legislators in Assam to push for formulation of a three-
pronged peace policy to tackle insurgency, try to elicit information related to public interests using provisions of the Right To Information (RTI) Act and press the State Government to prepare a development strategy pivoted on nature-economics.
These suggestions were made during the sixth and final phase of the Sabal Bidhayak programme initiated
by the Assam Legislative Assembly in collaboration with the Guwahati-based research institute, the Centre for Development and Peace Studies.
About 30 speakers from different fields from within and outside Assam addressed the legislators since the Sabal Bidhayak programme was launched on October 2, last year by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
Addressing the gathering on Tuesday Assam’s Chief Information Commissioner Himangshu Shekhar Das said the use of RTI as a tool to seek information in the state was very low and that it is only about one-tenth of the national average.
He also disclosed that of the total RTI applications filed, around 80 per cent are moved by particular 10 to 15 individuals.
Das added that very few RTI applications are filed by intellectuals, media personnel and women.
He called upon the Assam MLAs to use RTI in a big way to seek information from government departments to serve the people better.
Another resource person, Dr Nani Gopal Mahanta, Head, Department of Political Science, Gauhati University said that the government should come up with a peace policy at three levels—macro, micro and district level.
The macro level, he said, should involve the Central Government, the micro level should be initiated by the state government and the district level peace policy should deal with the fragmented militant groups.
He emphasised the need to involve the civil society and take their views during the peace negotiations and eventual signing of peace agreements.
In his address, Dr LR Bishnoi, Additional Director General of Police (BTAD and Railways) said though insurgency related violent incidents had come down in Assam, many militant groups from the State and other parts of the Northeast were regrouping in bordering areas of the region inside Myanmar border making it necessary for the security forces to be on guard.
He said an effective counter-insurgency strategy could include, apart from consistent joint operations, use of advanced technological gadgets, breaking support network of rebel groups, joint action with neighbouring states, strengthening infrastructure and coming up with rewards and appreciations for security officers.
Making a presentation on “Assam, Naturenomics, Conservation and Role of Legislators”, Ranjit Barthakur, business leader and founder of Balipara Foundation, said Assam urgently needed to formulate a development plan by merging nature and economics since the State’s biggest assets were its natural resources.
Barthakur said that since six million people in Assam were directly involved in the State’s tea industry, Assam should have a Tea Ministry. He also cautioned that the tea industry in Assam could
be adversely impacted by climate change in the next two decades.