Guwahati, Nov 27 (PTI) The Assam cabinet has approved a report of the Group of Ministers (GoM) regarding the proposal for grant of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six major communities of the state, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Members of these six communities – Tai Ahom, Chutia, Moran, Motok, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea Tribes (Adivasis) – have been demanding ST status for a long time.
The report of the GoM will be submitted by the state’s Tribal Affairs Department to the assembly, and ”we will request the Speaker to table it in the House before the winter session ends on Saturday”, Sarma said at a media briefing after the cabinet meeting on Wednesday evening.
The three-member GoM was headed by Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, while the other two members are Water Resources Minister Pijush Hazarika and Information and Technology Minister Keshab Mahanta.
The cabinet has also approved the modification and transfer of 99 acres of land under the Handloom, Textiles and Sericulture Department, to the Cultural Affairs Department for the establishment of a state-of-the-art museum, where the famed devotional textile ‘Vrindavani Vastra’ will be on display, after being brought on loan from the British Museum in London, Sarma said.
The ‘Vrindavani Vastra’, a 16th-century silk textile depicting the life of Lord Krishna, was created under the guidance of Assamese cultural icon Srimanta Sankardeva at the request of Koch king Nara Narayan.
The museum, a priority initiative aimed at preserving and showcasing one of Assam’s most significant heritage textiles, will be developed with the support of JSW I&P Holdings Pvt Ltd as their Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, he added. PTI DG NN RBT
Category: Breaking News
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