Assam: Dima Hasao District Congress Committee demands residence certificate for indigenous settlers

Dima Hasao District Congress Committee on July 14 submitted a memorandum to Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria seeking his intervention on the issuance of Permanent Residence Certificates (PRC) to indigenous settlers residing in the district.

The Congress committee in its memorandum apprised the Governor of several issues which the district is facing and said that these issues are very much needed which the ruling NC Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC), Haflong, and the Dima Hasao district Administration have ignored.

The Congress committee in the memorandum said that the Revenue Department of NCHAC has stopped issuing PRC to the indigenous settlers of various areas in the Dima Hasao District.

''The far-flung rural areas where these indigenous settlers are inhibited were demarcated as forest reserve area the government in recent years,'' the memorandum read.

It further claimed that the government failed to rehabilitate these indigenous settlers to other places who had been living in these areas for generations.

The District Congress also said that the sudden decision of issuing PRC by the authority to these people has left their lives of these people in jeopardy as many of them and their siblings are finding difficulties in getting school and college admission and doing up the other official work.

''In this regard, we pray for your kind interference in the matter and facilitate justice to these indigenous people by issuing PRC under the provision of the Forest Area Dwelling Act,'' it urged the Governor.

The Dima Hasao District Congress Committee also informed Governor about the misappropriation in the distribution of compensation to the affected families in the Assam MALA Road Projects from Diyungbra to Haflong, Dima Hasao. 

''It is found that many individuals who do not have any land or properties in the said route, having clandestine with the NCHAC authority, have received huge amounts of compensation whereas the genuinely affected families have been deprived of their compensation. These deprived families have been struggling for their rights for a long time, but time and again, their demands have been ignored by the authority,'' it said in the memorandum.

Besides this, the Governor was also informed about a case pertaining to the killing of a police personal Habibur Rahman in 2007 under Diyungmukh PS in Dima Hasao. 

''This case is presently sub-juiced at Hon'ble District & Session Judge Court, Haflong wherein Daniel Dimasa Debolal Gorlosa, the present CEM of CHAC is a prime accused. It is to be mentioned that Bikash Thaosen was a driver of the Sumo vehicle on that unfateful day in 2007 in which Habihur Rahman travelled and was killed later and hence he is an eye witness in the case,'' it said.

The Congress committee alleged that accused approached the wife of Thaosen at Umrangso, Dima Hasao, and tried to influence her to intimidate her husband by offering a government job and money. 

''We, therefore, pray before you to initiate a proper and impartial inquiry into it and book the culprit as per law,'' the Congress committee said.

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