Of the 13 new bills to be tabled during the autumn session that the Assam government notified the Assembly Secretariat about, three bills — Assam Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) (Amendment) Bill, 2024, Assam Land and Revenue Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and Assam Muslim Marriage Registration (Compulsory) Bill, 2024 — were introduced on Tuesday.
Amid protests from the opposition including the Congress and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the Assam Muslim Marriage Registration (Compulsory) Bill was floored. The move is aimed at the registration of Muslim marriages and divorces to be handled by the government instead of a Qazi. The bill also aims to make the registration of child marriages illegal.
The Congress left the House in protest of the tabling of the bill.
The Assam cabinet had proposed to repeal the existing act governing Muslim marriages and divorces in the state in February and approved the 'Muslim Marriage Registration Bill, 2024' empowering the government to register Muslim marriages in the state instead of Qazis.
Meanwhile, the Assam Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) (Amendment) Bill was also introduced in the Assembly today. After a detailed discussion the bill, that seeks to empower SCs and STs by guaranteeing vacancies, was tabled.
During today's session, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that a new law will be proposed to ensure that 90 per cent of government jobs are reserved for Assam-born residents, with the remaining 10 per cent allocated to non-domicile persons holding Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs).
Sarma emphasized that the domicile policy will be designed to safeguard government jobs for indigenous people while maintaining a balance for managerial positions, allowing non-domicile individuals with PRCs to apply for these roles. The policy aims to secure lower-grade jobs for locals while ensuring fair access to higher-level positions.
Another bill that was tabled by cabinet minister Jogen Mohan today was the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation (Amendment) Bill aimed at curtailing the sale of land surrounding 'heritage structures' by declaring the area as protected. If passed, it will prevent unauthorised sale of lands in Barpeta, Bordua, Majuli and other important sites across the state where holy Satras exist. Barpeta, Bordua and Majuli will be declared as heritage blocks as part of the process.
Earlier this month, the Assam cabinet approved the bill. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that transactions of such pieces of land can be between families residing there for three generations or more.
"A 5 km area around a heritage structure -like a Mandir or a Namghar which is at least 250 years old-will be declared as a protected area.This implies that land in the area can be transacted only b/w families who have resided there for 3 generations or more," the Chief Minister's Office informed via a social media post.
