Guwahati, Mar 22 (PTI) Opposition MLAs of Assam on Tuesday demanded a socio-economic survey of ‘char’ areas (sandbars) that reel under high levels of poverty, illiteracy and under-development.
Moving a private members’ resolution in the assembly, AIUDF MLA Ashraful Hussain claimed that low literacy and limited access to healthcare facilities and institutional delivery was leading to population explosion in the char areas.
He claimed that the village with the lowest female literacy in the country is a ‘char’ in his Chenga constituency in Barpeta district.
“There should be a plan for improving educational and social sectors of the people of chars by conducting a socio-economic survey in these areas to highlight the need for a thorough analysis of the problems plaguing these sandbars,” he said.
Hussain said that the socio-economic survey of char areas done in 1993-94 had estimated that 16 lakh people lived in the sandbars in 14 districts of the state.
The literacy rate of the char areas was 15.45 per cent against the all-Assam rate of 52.89 per cent, he said.
The literacy rate in these areas was 19.31 per cent as per the Assam Administrative Reforms Commission Report, 2005, with the ‘Socio-Economic Survey Report 2002-03 of Char Areas of Assam’ also mentioning the same literacy rate, he said.
The Socio-Economic Survey Report also found that the population in the char areas had increased to 24 lakh people spread across 14 districts, with 67.88 per cent families living Below Poverty Line (BPL). The overall percentage of BPL families in the state in 2004-05 was 36.40 per cent, Hussain said.
As per Census 2011, the socio-economic status of the char residents remained “deplorable”, with only about 13-15 per cent of the total population of these areas being literate, he added.
“As per the same Census report, the char village Uttar Guduni under Chenga constituency has an overall 7 per cent literacy rate. The female literacy rate in this village is 6 per cent, and as per my research, this is the village with the lowest female literacy rate in the country,” he said.
He said that in spite of the problems in these areas, the char dwellers are a major contributor to the agriculture sector of the state, which accounts for 19 per cent of GSDP.
“A large chunk of our population lives in the char areas but there is no survey, no proper estimation of their numbers or their needs. I urge the government to conduct a socio-economic survey in the chars immediately,” Hussain said.
Another AIUDF legislator Aminul Islam, supporting the resolution, said that the number of char dwellers is estimated to have grown to 33 lakh, but these people have to suffer annually due to flood and erosion with no permanent solution in sight.
“The government can provide them with Internally Displaced Person (IDP) certificates so that they can avail government benefits,” he said.
Islam also demanded reservation for people from char areas in educational institutions and jobs due to the under-development of these parts.
Congress MLA Nurul Huda sought immediate survey of the char areas and its inhabitants, and stressed the need for opening more educational institutions and improving connectivity for the progress of these areas.
His party colleague Aftab Uddin Mullah, also speaking on the plight of the char dwellers, demanded erosion-hit certificates for these people as they have to annually face the onslaught of flood and erosion being residents of low-lying areas.