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India Gazette
3 days ago
- Business
- India Gazette
Assam Women University signs MoU with Green Action Foundation
Jorhat (Assam) [India], June 19 (ANI): In a significant step towards fostering environmental research and sustainability initiatives, Assam Women's University (AWU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Green Action Foundation (GAF). The MoU signed aims to promote collaborative research, knowledge exchange, and capacity-building activities in areas of environmental conservation, sustainable development, and green innovation. The signing ceremony was held at the university campus in the presence of Vice Chancellor Ajanta Borgohain Rajkonwar, Registrar Tapan Gohain (ACS), and faculty members from AWU. Representing the Green Action Foundation, Director, CBE, Pranab Kumar Sarmah and Sujith Kumar Das, CEO, were present to formalise the agreement. Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor Ajanta Borgohain Rajkonwar expressed enthusiasm over the collaboration and stated, 'This MoU marks a new beginning for Assam Women's University in strengthening its commitment toward environmental education and research. The partnership with Green Action Foundation will provide our students and researchers with a valuable platform to engage in field-based studies, awareness programs, and policy-level dialogues.' The MoU's key objectives include joint research projects on climate change, biodiversity, and natural resource management and the organisation of seminars, workshops, and training programs on environmental issues. Other objectives include exchange of scientific data, publications, and expertise, involvement of students in environmental awareness campaigns and green audits and the development of eco-friendly campus initiatives and community outreach programs. Director, CBE of GAF, Sarmah, remarked, 'We are delighted to partner with Assam Women's University. Through this collaboration, we hope to build a network of young researchers and change makers who can lead the future of sustainable development in Northeast India and beyond.' The partnership is expected to bring transformative opportunities for both faculty and students, while contributing significantly to the broader mission of environmental sustainability in the region. Earlier in Assam, the sixth meeting of the Sub-Committee for the Implementation of various clauses of the Assam Accord under the chairmanship of the Assam Minister of Implementation of Assam Accord, Atul Bora and leadership of All Assam Students' Union (AASU), was held at the Janata Bhawan. (ANI)
The Print
5 days ago
- Business
- The Print
Working on solution to make BCPL sustainable without govt help: Himanta
The BCPL is the largest petrochemical complex in the Northeast. Under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, it was commissioned in January, 2016. 'There are many challenges and we have been discussing those,' Sarma said at a press conference here. Dibrugarh (Assam), Jun 17 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that his administration is working on a permanent solution for making Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd (BCPL) sustainable without government assistance. The plant produces and transports various grades of high-quality polymers across the country. GAIL (India) Limited, its major shareholder, is marketing the products of BCPL. Sarma said the company had asked for land at Paradip in Odisha for its use and the state government is trying to obtain it. 'Replacing CISF with Assam Police (as the force securing the installation) will save Rs 8-9 crore, and we have issued instructions for the purpose. We are also in talks with a group to make the finished products here as it will strengthen the industry,' he added. The chief minister said the project will be closed down if government help is not provided. 'Both the central and state governments are now helping. But we have to think of a permanent solution,' he added. The project at Lepetkata in Dibrugarh is an outcome of the 1985 Assam Accord, aimed at the socio-economic development of the entire northeastern region. On Dibrugarh becoming the 'second capital' of the state, Sarma said, 'In keeping with our announcement, I have been coming here every month. I was here since June 14 and will return today.' He said the chief minister's office continued functioning from here during the period, ensuring that no work was hampered. Asked about the schedule for elections of various autonomous councils, Sarma said the Bodoland Territorial Council polls will be held in September. It will be followed by Silchar Municipal Corporation elections in October, and polls for Mising and Sonowal autonomous councils in November-December. Regarding Mottock and Moran autonomous bodies' polls, Sarma said amendments are needed to the existing laws to ensure that people of only the respective communities can vote. 'The cabinet will soon approve the amendments. These are sensitive topics, hence we do not want to rush them. We are taking it slow to ensure there are no problems,' the chief minister added. PTI SSG SSG ACD This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Scroll.in
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Assam pushed back 303 ‘foreigners' under 1950 expulsion law, says CM Himanta Sarma
The Assam government has 'pushed back' 303 'foreigners' and will continue to do so under the 1950 Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday. 'Another 35 is in our hand and they will be sent once the [flood] waters recede,' the Bharatiya Janata Party leader told the state Assembly. 'The Supreme Court clearly said the illegal expulsion act is valid and if the government wishes, they can expel the foreigners without going to Foreigners Tribunals.' Sarma's remarks in the Assembly came two days after he claimed that persons declared foreigners were being ' pushed back ' to Bangladesh under a legal framework. The Supreme Court, while hearing the challenges to Section 6A of the 1955 Citizenship Act, had said that 'there is no legal requirement for the Assam government to always approach the judiciary in order to identify foreigners', Sarma had told reporters on Saturday. In October, the Supreme Court had upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the 1955 Citizenship Act. Section 6A was introduced as a special provision under the Act when the Assam Accord was signed between the Union government and leaders of the Assam Movement in 1985. It allows foreigners who came to Assam between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971, to seek Indian citizenship. Indigenous groups in Assam have alleged that this provision in the Act had legalised infiltration by migrants from Bangladesh. On Monday, Sarma claimed in the Assembly that the Supreme Court's judgment on Section 6A 'has given sweeping powers to the Assam government'. 'The Supreme Court has said that 1950 act remains valid and operative,' Sarma said. 'By the order of the court, every deputy commissioner is empowered to evict anybody whom he feels is a foreigner. This is an infallible weapon given to the state government by the Constitutional bench.' The BJP leader also noted that the Supreme Court had also criticised the state government for not deporting alleged foreigners. 'So there is a pressure from the Supreme Court on the state government to act on the expulsion of the foreigners,' Sarma said. Stating that 303 persons had been 'pushed back', he added that the action would be intensified under the 1950 law, Sarma said. 'If a deputy commissioner finds prime facie evidence against a person that is an illegal foreigner, that person can be expelled to Bangladesh or pushed back without referring to the Foreigners' Tribunals as per the illegal expulsion act 1950,' Sarma said. The chief minister also told the Assembly that two to four persons, who had received a stay from the Supreme Court and the High Court against their deportations, were also 'pushed back'. 'Through the diplomatic channel, we have also brought them back,' Sarma added. Deportations On May 31, the chief minister confirmed that Assam was 'pushing back' to Bangladesh persons who have been declared foreigners by the state's Foreigners Tribunals. Foreigners Tribunals in Assam are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate on matters of citizenship. However, the tribunals have been accused of arbitrariness and bias, and of declaring people foreigners on the basis of minor spelling mistakes, a lack of documents or lapses in memory. Sarma's May 31 statement had come against the backdrop of an increase in detentions of declared foreigners in Assam since May 23. Families say they have no information on their relatives' whereabouts. Some of them have identified their missing relatives in videos from Bangladesh, alleging they were forcibly sent across the border. Sarma had claimed that the process of pushing back foreigners was being taken as per the directives issued by the Supreme Court in February. On February 4, the Supreme Court directed the state government to start the process of deporting foreign nationals being held in the state's detention centres immediately.
Scroll.in
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
SC refuses to entertain petition against Assam ‘pushing' back declared foreigners to Bangladesh
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition challenging the Assam government 'pushing' back to Bangladesh persons who have been declared foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunals in the state, Live Law reported. A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and SC Sharma was hearing a petition filed by the All BTC Minority Students Union, which claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state was arbitrarily pushing Indian citizens to Bangladesh without following due process under the guise of deporting undocumented migrants. 'Why are you not going to the Gauhati High Court?' PTI quoted the bench as asking advocate Sanjay Hegde, who appeared for the All BTC Minority Students Union. In response, Hegde said that the petition was based on an order passed by the top court earlier. The advocate also said that the union would withdraw the petition and take recourse before the High Court. The Supreme Court then allowed him to withdraw the petition. The petition came against the backdrop of a surge in detentions of declared foreigners in Assam since May 23. Families say they have no information on their relatives' whereabouts. Some of them have identified their missing relatives in videos from Bangladesh, alleging they were forcibly sent across the border. Scroll had earlier reported that a former teacher from Morigaon district, Khairul Islam, whose citizenship case was still being heard in the Supreme Court, had been picked up from the Matia detention centre and forced out along the Bangladesh border near Assam's South Salmara district in the early hours of May 27. In a video recorded by journalist Mostafuzur Tara from Bangladesh's Rangpur division, Khairul Islam alleged that he was among 14 persons 'pushed' into Bangladesh by India's Border Security Force on the morning of May 27. Islam and the others were reported to be in no man's land, between the two countries. Three days later, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma admitted to 'pushing' back persons who were declared foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunals to Bangladesh. Stating that the process to push back foreigners would continue, Sarma claimed that the action was being taken as per the directives issued by the Supreme Court in February. On February 4, the Supreme Court directed the state government to start the process of deporting foreign nationals being held in the state's detention centres immediately. It had said that foreign nationals can be deported even without an address. 'You cannot continue to detain them they are held to be foreigners, they should be deported immediately.' Foreigners Tribunals in Assam are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate on matters of citizenship. Only those living in the state before March 25, 1971, or their descendants, qualify as Indian citizens in Assam, as per the Assam Accord. However, these tribunals have been accused of arbitrariness and bias, and of declaring people foreigners on the basis of minor spelling mistakes, a lack of documents or lapses in memory. In its petition, the All BTC Minority Students Union said that after the February 4 order, the Assam government had 'reportedly launched a sweeping and indiscriminate drive to detain and deport individuals suspected to be foreigners, even in the absence of Foreigners Tribunal declarations, nationality verification, or exhaustion of legal remedies', PTI reported. Referring to several news reports about persons being 'pushed' into Bangladesh, the petition said that these instances reflected a 'growing pattern of deportations conducted by the Assam Police and administrative machinery through informal 'push back' mechanisms, without any judicial oversight or adherence to the safeguards envisaged by the Constitution of India or this court'.
Scroll.in
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Assam ‘pushing' back declared foreigners to Bangladesh, says Himanta Biswa Sarma
Assam is 'pushing' back to Bangladesh persons who have been declared foreigners by the state's Foreigners Tribunals, confirmed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday. The statement came against the backdrop of a surge in detentions of declared foreigners in Assam since May 23. Families say they have no information on their relatives' whereabouts. Some of them have identified their missing relatives in videos from Bangladesh, alleging they were forcibly sent across the border. Saying that the process to push back foreigners would continue, Sarma claimed that the action was being taken as per the directives issued by the Supreme Court in February. On February 4, the top court directed the state government to start the process of deporting foreign nationals being held in the state's detention centres immediately. The court had said that foreign nationals can be deported even without an address. 'You cannot continue to detain them they are held to be foreigners, they should be deported immediately.' Sarma claimed on Friday that the state was only pushing back those who have been declared foreigners and have not appealed in court. 'If among them, some people tell us that they have appeals in the High Court or Supreme Court, then we are not troubling them,' he said. Foreigners Tribunals in Assam are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate on matters of citizenship. Only those living in the state before March 25, 1971, or their descendants, qualify as Indian citizens in Assam, as per the Assam Accord. However, these tribunals have been accused of arbitrariness and bias, and of declaring people foreigners on the basis of minor spelling mistakes, a lack of documents or lapses in memory. We are duty bound to protect the interests of Assam and expel all illegal immigrants from the State through any means and as per directions of Supreme Court. We remain committed to carry out our activities in this direction. — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) May 30, 2025 On Friday, the Assam chief minister also claimed that 30,000 persons declared as foreigners in the state have gone missing, reported Deccan Herald. They will be sent back wherever they are found, he added. The detection and deportation efforts had been informally halted during the process of updating the National Register of Citizens, but the state has now decided to resume the drive and 'push them back to Bangladesh', said Sarma. On Tuesday, Scroll reported that a former teacher from Morigaon district, Khairul Islam, whose citizenship case was still being heard in the Supreme Court, had been picked up from the Matia detention centre and forced out along the Bangladesh border near Assam's South Salmara district in the early hours of May 27. In the video recorded by journalist Mostafuzur Tara from Bangladesh's Rangpur division, Khairul Islam alleged that he was among 14 persons 'pushed' into Bangladesh by India's Border Security Force on Tuesday morning. Islam and the others were reported to be in no man's land, between the two countries. Gauhati HC seeks Assam's response On Thursday, the Gauhati High Court issued a notice to the Assam government, seeking information on the whereabouts of two men from Kamrup district – Abu Bakkar Siddique and Akbar Ali – who went missing after being summoned the police on May 25, Live Law reported. The court has asked the state to respond to its notice by June 4. 'Since then, the authorities have refused to give details of their whereabouts,' Aman Wadud, one of the advocates representing them in court, had told Scroll. The petitioner, Torap Ali, had said that he was 'apprehensive that his uncles will be pushed back into Bangladesh, in light of recent reports'. Assam's Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia on Friday wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raising concern about the state pushing back persons to Bangladesh. In his letter, Saikia accused the Assam Police of carrying out the crackdown in violation of constitutional rights and due process.
