Additional chief secy to probe into boat accident: Assam Cabinet

The Assam Cabinet on Thursday decided that Additional Chief Secretary Maninder Singh will conduct the inquiry into the boat tragedy in which one person died and two others went missing, and submit a report within a month, a minister said.

A boat headed to Majuli collided with a ferry steamer and sank in the Brahmaputra river near Nimati Ghat in Jorhat district on Wednesday.

The Cabinet met on Thursday evening after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma returned from Majuli, where he reviewed the rescue operations, visited the injured at a hospital and met representatives of various organisations during the day.

The Cabinet also made a decision that the Jorhat Police will be directed to file a criminal case against those responsible for the accident, Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said after the meeting.

It decided to entrust Finance Minister Ajanta Neog with the responsibility to monitor the construction of a bridge connecting Jorhat and Majuli. The Cabinet resolved to take a few permanent steps regarding waterways connectivity in the state which will be declared by the chief minister soon, Mahanta said. At the meeting, the ministers observed a minute's silence to mourn the tragedy and offered condolences to the families of those who died or are missing.

Reciprocating militant organisation Dimasa National Liberation Army's unilateral ceasefire for six months, the Cabinet decided that the state government would stop its operations against the outfit for one month and during this period, its members cannot carry arms and declare bandhs.

It was also decided that from now on, police verification would not be required for those selected for appointments in government jobs, Mahanta said.

They would have to provide self-declaration which would be uploaded on a portal and if self-declarations are disputed with facts, steps would be taken against the candidate.

Reservation for specially-abled candidates in government jobs would be increased from the current three per cent to four per cent.

Unemployed persons in the state would now be able to register their names online at the Employment Exchange with their Aadhaar card numbers, the minister said.

Offline registration will be allowed till March 31, 2022, and from April 1, only online mode of registration will be there, he said.

For government construction works, the royalty payable to the forest department for using construction materials like sand, stones etc would now be deducted from the contractors' bill and submitted in treasury.

For private construction in urban areas, the fixed royalty can be paid in four instalments at the treasury, Mahanta said.

The Cabinet also decided that degrees and diplomas issued by government approved distance learning institutes would now be considered on a par with on-campus courses for government jobs.

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