GUWAHATI: In a major decision soon after assuming office for a third consecutive term, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma chaired the first Cabinet meeting of the NDA 3.0 government and approved the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state, while completely exempting tribal communities, their customs and traditional practices from its ambit.
With this move, Assam has become the second Himalayan state after Uttarakhand to move towards implementing the UCC framework. The Bill is expected to be tabled in the Assam Assembly on May 26.
Addressing the media after the Cabinet meeting in Guwahati, Sarma said the proposed law would deal with matters related to succession, marriage, divorce, live-in relationships and compulsory registration of marriages.
However, he clarified that all tribal communities and their customary laws, rituals and social traditions would remain outside the purview of the legislation.
“We have customised the UCC according to Assam’s unique social and cultural realities. Tribal populations have been completely exempted. Customs, rituals and traditions practised by different indigenous communities of Assam will remain protected,” the Chief Minister said.
He added that the proposed legislation would broadly be in sync with the legal frameworks adopted in states like Uttarakhand and Goa.
The Cabinet also rolled out a series of austerity measures in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appeal made during his address in Vadodara amid the continuing Gulf war crisis and rising global fuel uncertainty.
In a significant step towards cutting government expenditure and fuel consumption, the Assam government announced that no new government vehicles would be purchased for the next six months. The state has also decided to aggressively promote scrapping of old vehicles and slash fuel expenditure by 20 per cent compared to the previous financial year.
The government has further prohibited private foreign travel by government officers and employees for the next six months, except in medical emergency cases.
In another symbolic but politically significant move, the Cabinet decided to drastically downsize official cavalcades and convoys, including those of the Governor, Chief Minister, ministers and senior government officials.
The state government has also decided to discourage physical seminars and official gatherings, with departments being directed to increasingly adopt virtual meetings and video conferencing to reduce expenditure.
The decisions are being viewed as an attempt by the Sarma government to project fiscal discipline and administrative restraint while simultaneously pushing politically sensitive reforms like the UCC ahead of the Assembly session.
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