Assam journalists press Himanta Biswa Sarma for Bengal-style welfare measures

The Assam Union of Working Journalists (Assam Barta Jibi Sangha) has urged the state government to expand welfare measures for journalists, citing West Bengal’s recent decision to provide health insurance, a higher pension for retired journalists and a Durga Puja grant to media professionals.

In a statement, union president Madhusudhan Medhi and general secretary Anjan Kumar Sarma called on Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to introduce similar measures for journalists in the state.

The demand comes after the West Bengal government announced a monthly pension of Rs 5,000 for retired journalists, up from Rs 2,500, along with health insurance and a Rs 3,000 Puja grant for working journalists.

The Assam union said journalists in the state continue to face gaps in healthcare, retirement benefits and official accreditation despite their role in communicating government programmes and public concerns.

Assam has had a pension scheme for retired journalists since 2017, but the union wants both the number of beneficiaries and the pension amount increased. It also called for a comprehensive health insurance scheme, arguing that many journalists struggle to meet medical expenses.

The union questioned the effectiveness of the existing Journalist Medical Welfare Scheme under the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), saying reimbursements remain limited and meetings of its review committee are no longer held regularly.

Accreditation has also emerged as a major concern. According to the union, several working journalists continue to wait for DIPR identity cards despite repeated applications, with some senior journalists nearing retirement without receiving official accreditation.

The union said it had raised the issue with Chief Minister Sarma on July 4. It claimed that although the Principal Secretary subsequently directed the DIPR Director to act, there had been no significant progress even after two months.

It has now called for immediate intervention by the DIPR Commissioner and Director and sought the dissolution and reconstitution of government committees that are no longer functioning effectively on journalist welfare.

The union also urged the Assam government to announce the next phase of its journalist pension scheme on January 1, as it has done in previous years, while addressing wider social security concerns affecting media workers in the state.