GUWAHATI: Taking forward his population control policy, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday announced the creation of eight sub-groups to work on a gamut of issues, including stabilising the population explosion.
The announcement was made after Sarma held a meeting with the representatives of the indigenous Muslim intelligentsia. Sarma said the participants agreed on population explosion being a major threat to the state’s development, especially economic, and laid thrust on the creation of sub-groups.
“If we have to be among the top five states, then we must manage our population explosion,” said Sarma. The chief minister said the sub-groups would work in sectors such as population stabilisation, health, education, cultural identity, women empowerment etc.
“The entire range of issues will be discussed in the sub-groups. After three months, we will be here again to prepare the roadmap for five years,” he said. This was the Assam government’s first-ever meeting with the leaders of indigenous Muslims since independence.
After the meeting, Sarma said he would hold discussions with the representatives of migrant Muslims,too. The series of meetings would encompass talks with the representatives of political and social bodies on population management.