GUWAHATI
The government of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) has resolved to set aside 1% of its annual budget for the attainment of child rights. It has also resolved to allocate 2% of the budget to increase the green cover, reduce plastic pollution, and manage groundwater sustainably.
The resolutions were adopted during the Winter Session of the Bodoland Territorial Council’s Assembly held in western Assam’s Kokrajhar on December 28.
“The House unanimously passed resolutions for the Child-Friendly and Child Labour-Free Bodoland and the Green Bodoland Mission,” the council’s Chief Executive Member, Pramod Boro, said. “The fund to be set aside is meant to protect and enhance child rights. The goal is to end child labour, child marriage, child exploitation, and child trafficking,” he said.
Child marriage and child trafficking are a major issue in BTR, particularly in areas inhabited largely by the minorities and tea plantation workers.
Under the Green Bodolad Mission, the BTC hopes to reclaim the forest cover lost from about 2,000 hectares by planting about one crore trees over two years. “The mission includes steps to work towards a ban on single-use plastic and manating groundwater sustainably for a resilient future,” Mr Boro said.
The BTC also decided to regularise the services of 259 teaching and non-teaching staff of 10 venture degree colleges across the BTR. A venture degree college is set up by the people of a locality and received affiliation from a university before January 1, 2006.
The services of these teaching and non-teaching staff, including 79 assistant professors and 65 tutors, would be regularised after the colleges are provincialised, a term for educational institutions whose liabilities have been taken over by the government.
The BTR government also plans to fill up 1,216 posts of elementary teachers to address the shortage of teachers across government or provincialised schools..
