Assam government will soon set up one hundred high schools in the tea garden areas of the state. Similarly, line sardars of the tea gardens would be provided with smart mobile phones. The government would also extend financial assistance of rupees twelve thousand each to around 47,000 pregnant tea garden workers per year for nutritional purpose during the period of their pregnancy.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal while reviewing the implementation of programmes for the welfare of tea tribes at his office conference room at Janata Bhawan on Friday evening directed the concerned departments to expedite execution of the initiatives. The chief minister also asked the education department to expeditiously transfer rupees six hundred each to girl students aged 12 to 20 years for procurement of sanitary napkins as announced in the state budget. He also proposed to set up a new department to look after the plantation and commercial issues of tea, rubber, bamboo etc. in the state.
Stating that lack of proper educational infrastructure at the tea gardens affects academic interests of the tea tribe students, the Sonowal asked the secondary education department to take up speedy measures for setting up one hundred high schools in the tea gardens. He also directed the department to develop the new schools as model institution and engage modern construction technology for early completion of construction work.
Further, reviewing the progress of mobile phone distribution programme for line sardars of the tea gardens, the chief minister directed the tea tribes’ welfare department to provide them smart phones so that the phone could be utilized as a multi-purpose device. Sonowal said that the smart phone would enable the line sardars to establish contact with concerned authorities to address any emergency situation. He asked the department to introduce an app with information in Assamese language in the phone for the same.
Taking part in the review, Principal Secretary of Health Department Samir Sinha apprised the chief minister about the health related issues of the tea gardens and interventions made by the government to tackle the same.
Minister of State (i/c) for Tea Tribes Welfare Pallab Lochan Das, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Sanjay Lohiya, Principal Secretary of Tea Tribes Welfare Department Ajay Tiwari, Secretary of Secondary Education Samsher Singh and other senior government officials were present in the review meeting.