Assam Cabinet decides to increase MBBS seats for communities demanding ST status

GUWAHATI: The Assam Cabinet has decided to increase the number of reserved seats by two each for the six communities demanding Scheduled Tribe status in medical education from the academic year 2022-23.

The six communities - Tea garden tribes, Koch Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Matak, Moran and Chutia - which are currently under the Other Backward Communities (OBC) have seats reserved for students from these communities in the MBBS, Tourism Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah said at a media briefing after the cabinet meeting late on Friday night.

The tea garden tribes will now have 26 reserved seats, the Koch Rajbongshis 10, Tai Ahom seven, Chutias six while Matak and Moran will have five each, he said. Three seats will be reserved under the ex-servicemen quota for Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) studies.

The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, also decided to increase the upper age limit at entry level posts in medical colleges from 38 to 40 years for general category, 41 to 43 years for OBC and More Other Backward Class (MOBC) and 43 to 45 years for SC/ST category applicants to motivate PG doctors to offer their services as faculty in the medical colleges.

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The cabinet also decided to streamline the process of laying the City Gas Distribution Pipeline (CGDP) by allowing the Deputy Commissioners to give permission for right of way, preferably within 15 days and not exceeding 30 days from the submission of a detailed plan.

The meeting also decided to lease land to the All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) for setting up an Academic Research and Career Information Centre at Betkuchi village in Kamrup Metro district, Baruah said. It was also decided that the state government will release Rs 18.02 crore as loan to Assam Tea Corporation Limited for payment of bonus to its employees/workers for the ensuing Durga Puja.

The cabinet decided that for installation of floating solar power plants, the user rights of the water bodies under the Assam Fisheries Development Corporation Limited (AFDCL) will be transferred to Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) following an agreement between them.

It was decided to set up the Assam Fodder Mission for a period of seven years with a proposed budget of Rs 120.20 crore for training and capacity building of 40,900 beneficiaries and create employment opportunities for 85 dairy farmers in advance feed processing sector.

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The cabinet decided to allot an additional Rs 4,638 crore for completion of large multi-village schemes under the Neer Nirmal Pariyojana in the three districts of Kamrup Metro, Jorhat and Hailakandi. It was also decided to roll out the Category II of Assam Micro Finance Incentive and Relief Scheme with six amendments in existing guidelines and approval of financial sanction of the required amount to the beneficiaries by October 2022. Category II includes borrowers whose payments are overdue by one to 89 days and the rollout will cover 1.07 lakh beneficiaries, Baruah added.