Assam government mulls to remove AFSPA from five districts: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the eve of the state government's second anniversary, informed that the government is working to remove the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) from the remaining 5 districts of the state this year.

The removal of the AFSPA from 60 per cent of the state and the signing of peace treaties with many armed groups in the state have resulted in a peaceful situation, the Chief Minister stated at a news conference marking the end of his two-year tenure. 

''Prime Minister Narendra Modi's various initiatives have led to peace agreements with several armed groups, removal of AFSPA from 60 per cent of the state, besides resolving boundary issues with Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya'', he said. 

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He said that this has given a message of hope for the youth and ''we hope that the AFSPA will also be removed from five more districts by the end of this year''. 

The central has repealed AFSPA from the whole state of Assam save for nine districts and a sub-division of Cachar district on April 1, 2022, and it was later removed from the Lakhipur sub-division and West Karbi Anglong district. 

Under AFSPA, the state was declared a 'disturbed region' during the intervening night of November 27-28, 1990, and this has been extended every six months since then. Sarma stated that the border conflict with Arunachal Pradesh has been totally addressed, while an agreement has been reached in six of the twelve disputed regions with Meghalaya, and negotiations on the remaining areas would begin next month. 

The Assam administration has also taken attempts to resolve border disputes with Mizoram and Nagaland, he noted. 

The state government will also establish five new Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) courts, as well as a dedicated judicial cadre of government nominated Public Prosecutors and new Public Prosecutors, according to the Chief Minister. 

The government would maintain its zero-tolerance approach towards drug trafficking, he added, noting that 5,659 cases have been reported under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in the previous two years, with more than 5431 drug traffickers imprisoned. 

The government will also constitute a dog squad to detect drugs hidden in secret chambers of vehicles, he added. 

Referring to the education sector, the Chief Minister said that the state will implement the New Education Policy (NEP) this year with the four-year integrated degree course scheduled to begin this year.