GUWAHATI: The autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) on Thursday passed a resolution for “Green Bodoland Mission”. The idea is to reclaim the lost forest cover in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) which straddles five districts of western and northern Assam.
The “Green Bodoland Mission-Reclaiming the Climate for a Resilient and Sustainable Future in BTR” resolution was passed during the one-day Winter Session of the council’s legislative assembly. The House also passed the “Child Friendly and Child Labour Free Bodoland” resolution.
BTC chief Pramod Boro, who moved the resolutions, explained the need for environmentally-sustainable development in line with the best practices and principles to ensure a green planet. The main features of Green Bodoland Mission include plantation of over one crore trees in 2,000 hectares of land in two years, plastic pollution reduction vis-a-vis single-use plastic ban, sustainable groundwater management for a resilient future.
Two per cent of budget has been allocated towards the Green Bodoland Mission. Boro said the BTC is committed to taking all steps necessary to achieve a child labour-free, child marriage-free and child exploitation and child trafficking-free BTR. The council will set aside one per cent of its budget for the attainment of child rights.
The BTC chief also said that in partial fulfilment of the Bodo Peace Accord of 2020, the services of 259 teaching and non-teaching staff of ten venture degree colleges in BTR had been provincialised. He said advertisements for filling up 1,216 posts of elementary teachers would be published soon to address the shortage of teachers in elementary schools.
Peace returned to BJP and United People’s Party Liberal-ruled BTR in the aftermath of the peace accord signed among Centre, Assam government and some Bodo organisations, including insurgent groups. The BTC will lay the foundation stone for the first of its kind “International School of Peace and Happiness” in January. It will be established in Chirang district and run by an organisation.
Over the past few decades, BTR has witnessed some violent and bloody ethnic and communal riots which has claimed the lives of hundreds of people of the state. The region has been also ravaged by insurgency.
Features of mission
The ‘Green Bodoland Mission-Reclaiming the Climate for a Resilient and Sustainable Future in BTR’ resolution was passed during the one-day Winter Session of the legislative assembly. The features include planting over one crore trees in 2,000 hectares of land in two years, plastic pollution reduction